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"Atlanta And Its 'Builders" 



Atlanta and Its Builders 



A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY 
OF THE GATE CITY OF THE SOUTH 



By 

THOMAS H. MARTIN 



IMume flDne 




CENTURY MEMORIAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
1902 



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Preface 



CONSCIOUS of its deficiencies, the editor presents this 
result of his labors to his fellow townsmen. Although 
the work is largely a compilation of facts and figures 
touching the history of Georgia's metropolis from its founding to 
this good year, and no special merit of originality is claimed for 
it, the reader will find much in these pages as is not elsewhere 
easily accessible in printed form — matter authentic and valuable 
for reference. Particularly is this true of the war history recorded 
with great fidelity and no little detail in the first volume. The 
facts therein contained were gathered from original sources — Fed- 
eral and Confederate — mostly direct from field orders, reports and 
correspondence. The task involved a vast deal of research and 
reading, but the editor feels compensated by the belief that a fuller 
or more reliable narrative of the famous "Atlanta Campaign," 
from Dalton to Jonesboro, was never written. 

The second volume, which deals with post-bellum and mod- 
ern Atlanta, will, we believe, be found to be brought down to date 
in preserving a record of the city's upbuilding and remarkable 
progress. The past decade has completely metamorphosed At- 
lanta physically. Her rehabilitation after the ruthless legions of 
Sherman passed through her ashes to the sea was not more mag- 
ical, if we may use the word, than has been her rapid transforma- 
tion in this latter conquest of peace. It is surprising, at first blush, 
but nearly all of the better buildings of Atlanta, business and resi- 
dential, have been constructed within less than the past ten years, 



vi Prefaa 

and tliis means the practical rebuilding of the city and its wide 
expansion in that short space of time. It goes without saying 
that, under such progressive conditions, Atlanta has been making 
history very fast of late. 

The enterprise of the publishers in the way of handsomely 
illustrating Atlanta of to-day, will, we are sure, be appreciated by 
subscribers to these volumes. Many of the views are the first 
and exclusive, while some familiar ones are seen from a new view- 
point. 

We cannot close these few prefatory words without acknowl- 
edging with sincere appreciation our indebtedness to Col. E. Y. 
Clarke and Mr. Wallace Putnam Reed, distinguished pathfinders 
and record keepers of Atlanta's short but wonderful annals. Ac- 
knowledgments are also made for valuable assistance in the work 
of compiling these volumes to Mr. Lucian L. Knight, literary 
editor, and Frank L. Fleming, assistant city editor of the Atlanta 
Constitution. 

Thomas H. Martin. 
Atlanta, October, 1902. 



Contents 



CHAPTER I 
When There Was No Atlanta i 

CHAPTER II 

Northwest Georgia Settlers 1 1 

CHAPTER III 
When Atlanta Was Terminus 19 

CHAPTER IV 
When Atlanta Was Marthasvtlle 29 

CHAPTER V 
Some Early Conditions and Incidents 40- 

CHAPTER VI 

Some Further Reminiscences 52 

CHAPTER VII 
The Christening of Atlanta 66 

CHAPTER VIII 
Well-Known Pioneer Citizens 76 

CHAPTER IX 
Progress and Outlawry 88 

CPIAPTER X 
The Early Fifties 100- 



viii C 'out cuts 

CHAPTER XI 
Uninterrupted Development ' '4 

CHAPTER XII 
Some Ancient Municipal History 122 

CHAPTER XIII 

Atlanta i\ the Panic Year 133 

CHAPTER XIV 

VlT ANTA IX [859 143 

CHAPTER XV 
War Clouds 154 

CHAPTER XVI 
First Years of the War 164 

CHAPTER XVII 

Andrews's Railroad Raid 177 

CHAPTER XVIII 
"( >n to Atlanta" 202 

CHAPTER XIX 

Evacuation of Dalton 215 

CHAPTER XX 
Resaca 226 

CHAPTER XXI 
Back to the Etowah 248 

CHAPTER XXII 
New Hope Church and Dallas 265 



CHAPTER XXIII 



lN( h BY Inch . 



294 



Con Uuts ix 

CHAPTER XXIV 

Kennesaw Mountain 3H 

CHAPTER XXV 
Down to the Chattahoochee 33& 

CHAPTER XXVI 

Closing in on Atlanta 357 

CHAPTER XXVII 
Battle of Peachtree Creek 37 1 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

Battle of Atlanta 393 

CHAPTER. XXIX 
The Movement to the West 422 

CHAPTER XXX 

Battle of Ezra Church 436 

CHAPTER XXXI 

Cavalry Raids and Stoneman's Capture 454 

CHAPTER XXXII 

Reaching for the Macon Road 474 

CHAPTER XXXIII 

Shelling Atlanta 491 

CHAPTER XXXIV 

Inside Atlanta Diking the Campaign 507 

CHAPTER XXXV 

Operations Near East Point and Wheeler's Raid 328 

CHAPTER XXXVI 

Sherman's Grand Flank Movement 551 



x C 'ontents 

CHAPTER XXXVII 
B V1T1.E of Jonesboro 568 

CHAPTER XXXVIII 
The Fall of Atlanta 59 1 

CHAPTER XXXIX 
Ihk Union Occupation 611 

CHAPTER XL 
I hi I >estruction of Atlanta 629 



Appendix 



CHAPTER XLI 

Sherman's Report 643 

CHAPTER XLII 
Johnston's Report 676 

CHAPTER XLI II 

1 [ood's Report 687 

CHAPTER XLIV 

Hardee's Report 698 

CHAPTER XLV 

S \i nil's Report 706 



Illustrations 



First Two-story Building in Atlanta 24 

George W. Adair — Portrait 31 

Er Lawshe — Portrait 41 

Richard Peters — Portrait • 50 

Old Homestead of Ex-Gov. Joseph E. Brown 72 

Jonathan Norcross — Portrait jj 

John Collier — Portrait : facing 79 

John Silvey — Portrait 102 

C. H. Strong — Portrait 123 

N. J. Hammond — Portrait 138 

Sidney Root — Portrait 160 

Joseph Payne Logan, M. D. — Portrait 166 

Gen. L. J. Gartrell — Portrait 169 

Home of Ex-Governor Colquitt 216 

Gen. John B. Gordon's Home 229 

Governor's Mansion 252 

Confederate Breastworks, on Howell's Mill Road 267 

Confederate Breastworks, made in '64, now in the city limits 281 

Where Capt. E. P. Howell's Battery was placed, July 20, '64 372 

Scene on Peachtree Creek Battleground, two miles northwest of 

Atlanta 378 

McPherson Monument 402 

Confederate Monument 450 

Lamp Post, corner Alabama and Whitehall streets, showing 

fracture caused by Yankee Shell 492 

Collier Residence, corner of Nelson and Chapel streets 500 

Thomas S. Powell, M. D.— Portrait 511 

Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons 516 

Confederate Breastworks, made in '64, on Marietta street 521 



xii Illustrations 

Confederate Breastworks, Grant Park, made to defend the city of 

Atlanta in [864 531 

Entrance to Oakland Cemetery 547 

Confederate Monument, Oakland Cemetery 559 

Memorial Day Par \hk. April 26, 1901 571 

Confeder \h Soldiers' I Iome of Georgia 586 

James M. Calhoun — Portrait 506 

Kontz Residence the, Marietta street 616 

l-'.nu ard E. Rawson — Portrait 622 

View from the Capitol Dome 631 

Old Slave Market, the, a war time view 636 

First Building erected on Whitehall street after General Sher- 

m a n s departu re 1 n 1865 638 

i'l m iii ree street, from the railroad tracks 64o 



CHAPTER 1 

WHEN THERE WAS NO ATLANTA 

A city whose non-existence can be remembered by a man 
who has only reached the psalmist's allotted span of life is en- 
titled to the designation of new, especially in a section of the 
country first to be explored by the Spaniard and which boasts of 
the oldest town in North America. Savannah, rich and proud 
of her shipping, a miniature Venice, ambitious of international 
trade exploitation, was one of the growing cities of the thirteen 
colonies when the region around Atlanta was a howling wilder- 
ness, impenetrated by a Daniel Boone. Augusta, a bustling cot- 
ton mart and the outlet of a long distance overland trade, had 
been incorporated for a century when the first settler's cabin 
reared its rude walls on the site of Atlanta. Other leading cities 
of Georgia had railroad connections and for a generation or 
more had enjoyed a wide commercial intercourse when the magic 
word Atlanta first appeared on the map of the old commonwealth. 
Indeed, the metropolis of the Southeast may truthfully be said to 
be a post-bellum product, for, search through its length and 
breadth, and you will with difficulty find a landmark that recalls 
so recent and momentous an era of history as the civil war — 
the bloody cradle in which the infancy of Atlanta was rocked. 
This, anywhere but in the West, is anomalous. Many of the 
booming Western cities are older than the Sonth's most progres- 
sive and quickly growing city. Atlanta is new. The hope of 
youth is in her heart and the suppleness of youth is in her limbs. 
She is the civic personification of strength and promise. Her 
glories are not reminiscences. Her life is all before her, and her 
achievement but an earnest of what she will do. 

It is appropriate, in setting about the task of attempting to 
trace the growth and chronicle the annals of so remarkable a city 



2 Atlanta And Its Builders 

to look somewhat into the environing conditions antedating its 
birth. In these conditions, themselves anomalous, will be found 
the reason of Atlanta's comparative newness. When the coast 
region and low lands of the state were thickly settled, and, in some 
respects, already effete, the region now immediately tributary to 
Atlanta — the whole of northwest Georgia, in fact — was a great 
Indian reservation, to enter which was legally "intrusion," pun- 
ishable by lines and imprisonment. The Cherokees, the most 
intelligent and powerful of all the aboriginal tribes, occupied the 
primeval forests of this half explored hill country and carried on, 
in a primitive way, their agriculture and domestic industries. They 
were not savages, by any means, in the generally accepted view of 
the Indian. They were not there by sufferance, or as buffalo in 
a national park, to satisfy a sentimental governmental sense of 
equity. They owned these lands and had established upon them 
comfortable, though humble, homes, with occasional villages 
which supported schools and churches. Since the landing of 
Oglethorpe the)' had been the object of the religious solicitude of 
the missionaries, and may be said to have been quite effectually 
christianized and civilized. Moreover, they preserved, by virtue 
of their treaty rights with the general government, a kind of polit- 
ical autonomy that exempted them from amenability to the state 
laws and left them free to carry on a queer mixture of civil and 
tribal government. They had the proud characteristics of their 
race in a superlative degree and were extremely jealous of wdiite 
encroachment. During those days they amalgamated little with 
the Caucasian and insisted on their treaty guarantee of social 
isolation. Every attempt on the part of the "boomers" of that 
time to break down their Chinese wall of exclusiveness was met 
with a rude diplomacy in the committee rooms and departments 
at Washington, creditable to the Cherokee's reputation for states- 
manship. They had strong leaders — such men as John Ross and 
Elias Boudinot — and as the cordon of civilization drew tighter 
about them their stubborn resistance to the attempt to make them 
take "the white man's path" was ready for any lengths of patriotic 
hen >ism. 

The state of Georgia, during the first quarter of the century, 
had resorted to every expedient to crowd the Cherokees across its 



When There Was No Atlanta 3 

western borders. At first it was successful in obtaining posses- 
sion of much of their lands through the William Penn policy of 
"swapping," but in time the Indians came to set the true value 
upon what was left of their broad acres, and further cessions by- 
one-sided purchase were no longer possible. In northwest Geor- 
gia the tribe made its last stand for a home, begirt by pioneeer 
settlers. The state was determined to oust the unwelcome red 
men, and, it is easy to believe, prepared to make any means justify 
the end. The history of the banishment of these Indians from 
the state is as pathetic as was the exile of the Acadians. The 
conflict of the laws of the Cherokee Nation and those of Georgia 
was seized upon by the latter as the easiest method of weakening 
the tribe's hold on congress. The Georgia delegation in the 
national legislature began a systematic campaign of dispossession. 
On the floor and in cloakroom and lobby persistent arguments 
were advanced and schemes proposed to accomplish the difficult 
result. The Indians, in an ugly mood, had occasion to resist with 
force repeated attempts on the part of determined white men to 
invade their lands. The state of Georgia, restive under the denial 
of its sovereignty within its own borders on the part of the United 
States, which the latter's adherence to the Cherokee treaties 
amounted to, threatened to ignore federal authority to the extent 
of treating the tribe as amenable to the state jurisdiction, and 
there were clashes of authority with the view of making test cases 
of the questions at issue. Indeed, the state legislature did 
embrace the tribe within the scope of its criminal jurisdiction, not- 
withstanding the assumption by the central government of the 
sole right to exercise authority in all matters affecting the Indians, 
collectively or individually. The tribe had its own legislative 
council and machinery of local government, modeled, in the main, 
after white administration, and the supervisory office of the 
powers at Washington was nominal, except in extraordinary 
emergencies. The Indians punished their own criminals, and 
cases involving offenses betweeen the races were adjudicated by 
federal courts. The United States were pledged to exclude from 
the Cherokee reservation all white people who had not been per- 
mitted to enter by permission of the tribal council. The triangu- 
lar conflict of authority extended through several years, becom- 



4 Atlanta And Its Builders 

ing more aggravated each year, until, to make a long story short, 
Georgia succeeded in inducing congress to pass a law providing 
for the emigration of the tribe in a body to the lands set apart for 
them in the Indian Territory. The state was given authority to 
assume its long deferred jurisdiction over the Cherokee territory, 
and. upon the removal of the Indians, to dispose of the vacated 
lands to settlers. This was in 1827. 

But a few hundred of the 15,000 Cherokees obeyed the man- 
date of removal. Chief Ross refused to acknowledge the legality 
of the proposed procedure and was backed in his recalcitration by 
the council and head men. For four years the tribe remained 
upon the old reservation in quiet defiance of nation and state, the 
white usurpers fearing to precipitate an Indian war by taking 
decisive measures. It was known that the young braves were 
eager to resist the abandonment of their homes with arms in their 
hands. The wary old statesmen of the tribe filibustered with the 
Indian department and tried to entangle the situation with red 
tape. A case was brought by Chief Ross, for his people, in the 
supreme court of the United States, praying for an injunction to 
prevent the state of Georgia from exercising jurisdiction over a 
Cherokee criminal whose offense had theretofore been cognizable 
in the tribal courts. The supreme court ruled in favor of the 
Indians, and the effect of the ruling was to prevent the state from 
executing its laws within the territory occupied by the Cherokees. 
This brought matters to a focus. The legislature of 183 1 passed 
a bill to survey the lands of the Cherokee Nation, and Governor 
Lumpkin a little later ordered the survey to be made, but it was the 
purpose of the state to take no steps toward taking possession of 
the lands until a reasonable time had elapsed, the Washington 
authorities promising to see that the Indians left peaceably. 
Georgia also passed a law requiring all white men resident in the 
Cherokee Nation by consent of the tribe to take the oath of alle- 
giance to the state. The penalty of non-compliance was a mini- 
mum term of four years in the penitentiary at hard labor. The 
latter law further complicated and aggravated the dangerous sit- 
uation, and, with the decision of the supreme court, raised the 
direct issue of "state's rights" with the Washington government. 
Some of the white missionaries laboring among the Indians, 



When There J Fas No Atlanta 5 

northerners for the most part, ignored the new law. Two of 
them, by name Worcester and Butler, were arrested by state 
officers, and upon conviction in a state court, sentenced to long 
terms in the penitentiary, in spite of the fact that the United 
States supreme court had issued a mandate requiring their release. 
These unfortunate missionaries remained in prison a couple of 
years, obtaining their freedom, after the exertion of much influ- 
ence throughout the state in their behalf, through the governor's 
pardon. 

The Indians showing no disposition to obey the "Great 
Father at Washington," Georgia "took the bull by the horns" and 
formally organized ten counties in the lands embraced by the 
Cherokee Nation and established a lottery for the disposition of 
the allotted claims to settlers. By this time, it being evident that 
emigration would be forced upon them, even at the point of the 
bayonet, the Cherokees had become divided among themselves 
and there was a strong pro-emigration party led by John Ridge, 
who held that the tribe would fare infinitely better by obeying the 
power of the government and obtain beneficial concessions. Chief 
Ross held out doggedly against the proposition, contending for 
$20,000,000 and the settlement of impossible claims. In 1835 
the two factions were represented in the Washington lobby by 
strong delegations headed by these opposing leaders, and the 
whole question was reopened in congress. Much interest was 
aroused in behalf of the Indians all over the country, particu- 
larly in religious circles. The South, then dominant in Wash- 
ington, supported the contention of Georgia, probably largely be- 
cause of the issue of state sovereignty raised, and the Ross party 
returned to the reservation hopeless. Feuds broke out among 
the Indians and killings resulted from their differing opinions. 
In another year the Ridge party had won a majority of the tribe 
to its side, and a final treaty was ratified. Under this treaty the 
Indians proposed to move peaceably to their new homes beyond 
the Mississippi, under the direction of agents of the government, 
relinquishing their lands for $5,000,000, to be held in trust by the 
United States. Their new lands were to contain some $7,000,- 
000 acres, with an unrestricted outlet to the great western plains, 
to be theirs "so long as grass grows and water runs." The 



6 Atlanta And Its Builders 

treaty was signed by Andrew Jackson, president of the United 
States, and up to a few years ago, when the descendants of these 
same Indians were forced to consent to take their allotments and 
dispose of their surplus lands to Uncle Sam, they regarded this 
treaty as their magna charta and swore by it. It was further 
stipulated that their new home should never be included within 
the bounds of any state or territory, without their consent; that 
the government would protect them from white intrusion, pay 
them certain sums annually for the support of their schools, etc. 
The government agreed to settle a mass of old claims, pay a num- 
ber of influential Indians pensions, and provided for the subsist- 
ence of the tribe for a year, during the removal, which was to be 
made two years f r< >m the time the treaty was signed. 

As the date set for the hegira approached — May 24, 1838 — 
it was generally believed that trouble was in store and that a large 
part of the tribe would have to be forcibly evicted. The Ross 
partisans were making "war medicine," it was said, and intended 
to defend their homes with their lives. Two or three volunteer 
companies were raised among the near-by settlers to be in readi- 
ness for an outbreak' at any time, and the governor ordered de- 
tachments of militia to points close to the reservation. The 
morning of the eventful day dawned with no signs of prepara- 
tions having been made on the part of the mass of the Indians, but 
with plenty of hostile signs. General W infield Scott, of the war 
department, had kept in touch with the situation and requested 
the state to furnish two regiments for the emergency. This 
was promptly done. General Charles Floyd commanding. Early 
on the morning of the 24th the military moved upon the reserva- 
tion, five companies under Captains Stell, Daniel, Bowman, 
Hamilton and Ellis proceeding to Sixes Town in Cherokee 
county; two companies under Captains Story and Campbell to 
Rome: two companies under Captains Horton and Brewster to 
Fort Gilmer, and Captain Vincent's company to Cedartown. 

Contrary to expectations, there was no trouble, but the 
wholesale eviction of some 15.000 home-loving Indians was little 
the less lamentable. Every Indian cabin was entered by the sol- 
diery and the inmates collected in squads and hustled to guarded 
camps. The state officials protested that this work was done 



When Their Was No Atlanta 7 

humanely, and without resorting to violent force, but to this day 
the Cherokees preserve a tradition of ruthless cruelty connected 
with their enforced removal of more than three score years ago, 
which has strengthened their deep-seated race hatred. It was 
fortunate for the state of Georgia that decisive action was taken 
by the local authorities, for toward the close of his administration 
it is said that Jackson was inclined to reverse his Indian policy to 
please the northern sentimentalists, and Governor Gilmer, then 
the occupant of Georgia's executive chair, says in his memoirs 
that Van Buren, who had succeeded to the presidency, was clos- 
eted with the lobbyists of the Ross party and had committed him- 
self to a let-alone policy at the very time the Georgia militia was 
successfully prosecuting the eviction. On June 3 the entire tribe 
was started for Ross' landing, and by the end of the month sev- 
eral thousand had begun the westward march. It was feared, 
however, that the heat of midsummer would result in an undue 
mortality among the emigrants, and word came from Washing- 
ton that the remainder would not be allowed to move before fall. 
Accordingly the bulk of the Indians remained in camp until Sep- 
tember. It is doubtful if the postponement was in the interest 
of humanity, for the last half of the journey was through the 
dead of winter. Hundreds are said to have died of pneumonia 
and exposure, while small-pox carried away many more. Some 
idea of the severe sufferings of these Indians can be formed by the 
bare statement that fully four thousand perished on the march— 
one-fourth of the entire number. With few exceptions the 
Cherokees walked the six or seven hundred miles that intervened 
between their old and new reservation, and their progress was 
necessarily very slow. Epidemics made long stops necessary, 
and though the federal government had made abundant provision 
for their sustenance en route, it was charged that the contractors 
and agents stinted and made inferior their food supply. Old In- 
dians now residing on the western reservation still speak mys- 
teriously of the mysterious deaths on that historic march. There 
can be no doubt but that not a few Indians fell victims to the ven- 
detta that the Ross-Ridge feud engendered, while making the 
journey, some of them, it was suspected, from poison. In less 
than a year after they had left Georgia, Major Ridge, his son, 



8 Atlanta And Its Builders 

John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot were assassinated. Similar 
crimes continued for more than a generation among the Chero- 
kees as the result of their exile from Georgia. The victims were 
those who had taken an active part in negotiating the removal 

treaty. ' 

At this day it is difficult to appreciate the importance to 
Georgia of the Indian problem then claiming her best statesman- 
ship. The state was upon the edge of the frontier and more or 
less annoyed by Indian depredations. Even after the Cherokee 
removal the state found it necessary to send a military expedition 
to the swamp region in the south to drive marauding Creeks 
across the line. But, undoubtedly, the principal reasons for de- 
siring to be rid of the Cherokees were because the tribe assumed 
to maintain an alien sovereignty and fee ownership of a consider- 
able part of the state's territory, and because the Cherokee country 
was known to be rich in gold. The Cherokees claimed their title 
from the Creeks, who had early in the century occupied northwest 
Georgia. Tradition has it that the land was lost by the latter 
tribe as the prize at stake in a ball game played between the skill- 
fullest warriors of the two tribes. This great ball game was said 
to have occurred sometime between 1816 and 1820. In his ad- 
mirable book of reminiscences, "The Georgians," Governor 
George R. Gilmer throws a flood of light on the "inside facts" 
connected with the whole Cherokee imbroglio. While the au- 
thor docs not write with the impartiality supposed to belong to 
the historian, he presents both sides of the controversy clearly 
enough to enable readers at this late day to form correct conclu- 
sions. The state denied the Cherokee title, which the general 
government sustained. At that time there was a great hue and 
cry being raised by the citizens of those states that were well rid 
of Poor Lo against the government's "unchristian" Indian pol- 
icy. In the north congressmen made their canvass on a platform 
pledged to the protection of "Indian rights," and the church de- 
nominations of that section were strongly represented in the 
Washington lobby fighting for what they considered a humani- 
tarian cause. Indeed, the Georgia Indian question was a factor 
in the contest for the presidency between Adams and Jackson, the 
former standing as the Indian's friend. Contemporary writers 



When There Was No Atlanta g 

assert that Adams had the better of his opponent on this ques- 
tion, so far as the majority sentiment was concerned, and that 
Jackson would have lost the race in consequence of what was re- 
garded as his anti-Indian views, had not his military record been 
so glorious. Moreover, as has been shown, the jealousy of a 
southern state over its disputed sovereignty was a sharp issue. At 
several stages of the long controversy the troops of the United 
States and the militia of the state of Georgia were on the point 
of a collision. Colonel Harden, who had entered the disputed 
territory at the head of the Hall county militia to expel gold- 
seekers, was placed under arrest by a military officer of the 
United States and his command not allowed to execute its com- 
mission. Then, too, the course of the missionaries, Worcester 
and Butler, in making a "stage play" of martyrdom for the bene- 
fit of the northern church people, was a most aggravating inci- 
dent. They claimed federal protection on the ground that they 
were employees of the government. Governor Gilmer in his 
book speaks with much bitterness of the sectional and religious 
prejudice that the missionaries settled among the Cherokees were 
inciting, and in his correspondence with the federal authorities 
makes clear the danger of a serious breach between the state and 
national governments. It was not until 1830 that congress, by 
the narrow margin of five votes, passed a bill authorizing the 
president to exchange with any Indian tribe lands of the United 
States west of the Mississippi river for lands occupied by them in 
any state or territory. The methods by which the "consent" of 
the Cherokees was obtained to their banishment will continue to 
remain unwritten history. This law freed Georgia forever of 
their obnoxious presence, though not until eight years after its 
passage. 

Governor Gilmer had a very poor opinion of the "civiliza- 
tion" of these Indians that gave him so much official trouble. He 
thought them incorrigible savages, brutish as the beasts of the 
field. Like many of our modern authorities on the Indian ques- 
tion, he held that their only salvation lay in amalgamation with 
the whites, and he makes no disguise of his lack of respect for a 
white man who would make himself a personal factor in thus solv- 
ing the problem. He stigmatized the wealthy half-breeds who 



io Atlanta And Its Builders 

owned slaves, cultivated large farms and kept ferries and taverns 
as social renegades, and declared many of them were refugees 
from justice. It was this element, to which Chief Ross and the 
ringleading mischiefmakers belonged, that influenced the genuine 
Indians to oppose the wishes of the Federal government and defy 
the authority of the state. It will be remembered as an incident 
of those troublous times that in the late winter of 1830 a party of 
armed and painted Cherokees raided white settlements within 
the disputed territory and drove the settlers from their cabins 
while the ground was covered with snow and sleet, burning the 
houses and farm improvements. This outrage sealed the doom 
of the tribe, so far as retaining a home in Georgia was concerned. 
In closing this chapter, which, it will presently be seen, deals 
with a phase of Georgia history that directly concerns the founda- 
tion and early progress of Atlanta, it is interesting to note that 
more than sixty years after the Cherokees sought a new home in 
the West, they are confronted with almost identically the same, 
to them, dangers, that they abandoned Georgia to escape. The 
United States, contrary to the letter and spirit of the treaty of 
1836, is about to divest the tribe of independent self-government, 
change its ancient system of land tenure, make American citizens 
of the Indians, and include their extinguished reservation within 
the boundaries of a state or territory of the union. Of course, 
as in the Georgia case, the Cherokees have deemed it the part of 
wisdom to "consent" to this. 



CHAPTER 11 

NORTHWEST GEORGIA SETTLERS 

To understand the spirit characteristic of Atlanta since her 
foundation — the spirit of pluck and push — one must take into 
consideration the peculiar character of the pioneers who made the 
country that made Atlanta. In doing so one cannot but be struck 
by the analogy of her history with that of the average Western 
t< iwn. While it is true that the portion of DeKalb county which 
included Atlanta the first few years of her history was outside the 
disputed Cherokee territory, it was but a few miles from the In- 
dian border — so close that some of the land in the vicinity of the 
then unborn town was clouded by Cherokee claims. When 
Georgia finally obtained possession of the great reservation, a 
considerable portion of it was added to DeKalb county. The rest 
was added to Carroll, Gwinnett, Hall and Habersham counties. 
Georgia, it will be borne in mind, was a comparatively old state 
at the time of the Cherokee emigration. Its desirable public 
lands were long since taken by settlers, and many of her hardy 
sons had joined the constantly growing army of pioneers seeking 
homes on the rich prairies a few hundred miles west. In those 
days it was a common expression among the restless landless 
class that "A poor man has no chance in Georgia." The arable 
lands of the commonwealth were largely in the hands of large 
landlords who cultivated them by means of slave labor, and the 
poor white who could not obtain a foothold in the Piedmont hill 
country and clear a farm from the forest, naturally drifted west. 
For years before the opening of the Cherokee reservation was ac- 
complished, the eyes of thousands of worthy men with little cap- 
ital but the will and muscle to do, were turned toward the forbid- 
den land, hoping to ere long be able to find homes there. 

Since these men largely laid the foundation of Atlanta's 
prosperity, it is well to know something about them in this con- 



\2 Atlanta And Its Builders 

nection. Few of them could boast of aristocratic forebears who 
received handsome land patents from their English sovereign, or 
who were members of exclusive colonial society. They sprang 
from the stock that made possible the patriot victory at King's 
Mountain — the shaggy wearers of homespun and coonskin caps 
whose long-barreled rifles made the Hessian dearly earn his hire. 
Davy Crockett will stand as a representative type of the "back- 
woodsmen" who cleared the farms of the great Appalachian 
region, and it was from such ancestors that the settlers of north 
Georgia came. These indomitable home-makers were for the 
most part of the matchless strain known as Scotch-Irish, possess- 
ing those rugged traits of independence, industriousness and hon- 
esty that Burns extols in his verse. Probably the descendants of 
these pioneers represent to-day the most distinctive type of Amer- 
ican. They have preserved their native blood against the hybrid- 
izing effect of foreign immigration, so manifest in all other sec- 
tions of the country, and their Americanism is as unadulterated. 

Speaking of this important element of citizens, the "The 
Commonwealth of Georgia" thus describes the North Georgians : 
"The population of Northeast Georgia is largely made up of im- 
migrants and their descendants from the mountain regions of the 
states lying eastward. These, in their turn, had an unusual 
sprinkling of Scotch blood, due to another natural law that impels 
emigrants from an older country to seek the counterpart of their 
own familiar mountains, dales or plains, as the case may be, in 
the El Dorado of their future. The rough, hardy Scotch, inured 
to hardship, accustomed to their cold mountain springs, and their 
clear streams of water, upon landing on the coast regions of the 
Old Dominion and the Old North State, would naturally seek the 
Piedmont region. From thence, along the valleys, they have 
crossed over into Georgia, still finding a congenial home and a 
thousand reminders of bonny Scotland. Thus the people of 
X< trtheast Georgia are largely of Scotch descent, as is otherwise 
indicated by the prevalence of the prefix, 'Mac' Northwest 
Georgia has received considerable accessions of population, by 
way of reflex, from East Tennessee, whose rich valleys extend 
into the northwestern counties of Georgia. Many of these were 
also of Scotch descent. The seacoast counties, on the other 



Northwest Georgia Settlers 13 

hand, received their principal accessions of population from a 
class who were blessed with mure wealth and corresponding cul- 
ture — a class more strongly wedded to the traditions of England 
and France." 

There is a good deal of romance associated with the settle- 
ment of North Georgia. A history of the period of Cherokee 
troubles, picturesquely treated, would read very much like a 
Pike's Peak rush or the Leadville excitement. As has been 
stated, the existence of gold in paying quantity in several of the 
counties afterwards formed from the Cherokee nation, had much 
to do with the coveting of the country by the white man, and was 
the source of much trouble and no little expense to the state of 
Georgia. A large adventurer class was attracted to the Georgia 
mountains while the Indians still retained possession of the coun- 
try, and crudely mined in the region between the Chestatee and 
Etowah rivers. Their operations were carried on mainly by 
the placer process, and, from Governor Gilmer's account, they 
must have been a lawless lot. They numbered some ten thou- 
sand, gathered from the four quarters. Many of them had, or 
pretended to have, the permission of the Indians to search for 
gold. The state regarded their presence with extreme dis- 
pleasure and sent several military expeditions against them to 
drive them off the reservation. In a communication to the attor- 
ney-general of the United States, Governor Gilmer said : ''The 
state considers itself entitled to all the valuable minerals within 
the soil of the Cherokee territory, by virtue of its fee simple 
ownership, and is now permitting itself to be plundered of its 
wealth from the strong desire of its authorities to avoid any col- 
lision with the general government." 

Speaking of the motley crew rendezvousing in the mountain 
fastnesses of north Georgia, the governor continues : "When this 
letter was written to the attorney-general, a community was 
forming in the gold regions scarcely ever paralleled anywhere. 
Many thousands of idle, profligate people flocked into the coun- 
try from every point of the compass, whose pent up vicious pro- 
pensities, when loosed from the restraints of law and public opin- 
ion, made them like the evil one, in his worst mood. After wad- 
ing all day in the creeks which made the Etowah and Chattahoo- 



14 Atlanta And Its Builders 

dice rivers, picking up particles of gold, they collected around 
lightwood knot fires at night and played on the ground and their 
hats at cards, dice, push pin, and other games of chance, for their 
dav's finding. Numerous whiskey carts supplied the appropriate 
aliment for their employments. Hundreds of combatants were 
sometimes seen at fisticuffs, striking and gouging, as frontiers- 
men only can do these things." 

After much importunity on the part of the state of Georgia, 
the federal authorities took action and drove the gold-hunters out 
with several companies of infantry, but no sooner were they gone 
than the Cherokees took possession of the "diggings," mostly 
through their adopted white citizens, and continued to extract 
large quantities of gold. The federal troops did not interfere, 
and indignation among the white people along the border was at a 
high pitch. Governor Gilmer again wrote the attorney-general, 
saying: "Very great excitement is said to be the result. There 
is much reason to apprehend that the Indians will be forcibly 
driven from the gold region, unless they are immediately prohib- 
ited from appropriating its mineral wealth." 

The state militia was shortly afterward ordered to the reser- 
vation to drive the Indians away from the gold streams, and it 
was during the first of these expeditions that Col. Harden, in 
command of the Hall county militia, was put under arrest by the 
federal commander in the reservation. Time and again the white 
boomers came back and were driven out. Several times there 
threatened to be an armed collision between the reckless miners 
and the military, and there was one riotous encounter that was 
dignified by the wags of the day by being called the "Battle of 
Leathersford." The militia had made a number of arrests, when 
it was set upon by a mob of boomers, who made desperate efforts 
to release the prisoners. Some heads were cracked with musket 
butts before the mob was driven off. 

It is said that fully twenty thousand men, some of whom 
were accompanied by their families, had gathered around the 
Cherokee Nation in regular Oklahoma fashion, to await the de- 
parture of the aboriginal occupants. On the northern border the 
mountaineers of Tennessee and North Carolina were largely in 
evidence, and the canvas-topped wagons of the Piedmont Geor- 



Northwest Georgia Settlers 15 

gians clotted the southern border. It was a weary waiting, some 
of the intending settlers suffering severely for the necessities of 
life. Some of them lived in camps for seven or eight years before 
they were allowed to offer their names in the lottery that deter- 
mined who should go in and enjoy the promised land. The 
Cherokee craze extended over the whole north half of Georgia 
and the adjacent region of neighboring states. The popular 
songs of the time referred to the common hope of obtaining In- 
dian land. There was one, a couplet of which ran : 
"I'm goin' for to leave my poor relation 

And get me a home in the Cherokee Nation." 

Such conditions as have been briefly described may with 
more degree of truth than appears on the surface be said to have 
given birth to Atlanta. Not that Atlanta came up like a mush- 
room, as a supply point for the Indian country or the receptacle of 
its overflow. It was several years after the Cherokees had re- 
moved to their new home before the little hamlet in the woods, 
destined to be the metropolis and capital of Georgia, contained a 
dozen shanties. But the opening of the Cherokee Nation had 
much to do with railroad building in northwest Georgia, and 
Atlanta was essentially the creation of the railroads. Two years 
before the Cherokees left, railroad conventions met in Knoxville, 
Tenn., and Macon, Ga., to project the construction of a railroad 
between the Chattahoochee and Tennessee rivers, and in the same 
year the legislature of Georgia passed a bill to build the State 
road as a main trunk between those important rivers, passing 
through the Cherokee territory. One of the strong points urged 
by the state before congress was the impediment of the Cherokee 
Nation to material progress. The great valley of Tennessee, un- 
able to find an eastern outlet to the seaboard, because of the in- 
superable barrier interposed by the lofty Appalachian range, was 
anxious for railroad connection with Georgia to that end. When 
the Indians departed from Georgia, the bars were thrown 
down. There was no room for a large town northwest 
of the center of the state prior to that important event. There 
were no local resources to invite the railroads, and nothing to in- 
vite the people. Once the impediment was removed, the change 
was almost instantaneous. Less than a year after the federal 



i6 Atlanta And Its Builders 

government had given the Cherokees but two years longer to 
remain, the chief engineer of the railroad that was to be the con- 
necting link between the Tennessee and Chattahoochee had run 
the preliminary survey and settled upon the site of Atlanta as a 
junction point. 

At this period the few settlers along the southern outskirts 
i if the Cherokee reservation carried on a wagon trade with Augus- 
ta. The haul was a very long one, over wretched roads, and the 
round-trip generally consumed more than a fortnight. What 
little cotton and corn was raised was exchanged by the few mer- 
chants for dry goods and groceries of the most staple kind. 
There were very few families in the entire region that could 
afford luxuries. The houses were, almost without exception, 
built of logs, and many of them had dirt floors. Plenty of these 
rugged settlers had never seen wheat flour. Their commercial 
wants were exceedingly few. as they "lived at home" in the strict- 
est meaning of the expression. Their boasted independence in 
this respect was purchased at the expense of great physical effort 
and discomfort, to say nothing of the waste of time. And yet, 
from what our surviving pioneer citizens and the printed chroni- 
cles of that well nigh forgotten time tell us, the people were happy 
and contented in their impoverished isolation. They were hos- 
pitable to the few strangers who happened along, and the wayfar- 
ing man was never turned away from their humble doors. 
Among themselves they were highly sociable, often walking long 
distances to "preaching," dances, "log-raisings" and the other 
primitive amusements peculiar to remote communities. Life 
among the mountaineers of North Georgia was wilder then than 
now. and such exciting sports as bear righting, sometimes wit- 
nessed by the whole population of a township, were common. 
"White's Statistics of Georgia,*' in describing these counties back 
in the forties, says of one of them (Hall) : "Hunting and rifle 
shooting occupy a Large part of the time of the people, who are 
generally temperate and hospitable, but rather shy of strangers." 
Of the people of Murray county, the same work says: "The 
amusements are dancing, racing, cock-fighting, gander-pulling 
and bear fights." Still, for all the roughness of their environ- 
ment and the crudeness of their manner of living, these mountain 



Northzvest Georgia Settlers ij 

folk were law-abiding and peaceably inclined. Homicides were 
rare among them, as the court records of their counties will show, 
and they seem, by the same testimony, to have had little use for 
lawyers. It may sound strange, writing at this clay, to class the 
early inhabitants of the region immediately tributary to Atlanta, 
with the quaint mountaineers still presenting a picturesque type 
in the highland counties, but at that time DeKalb, and the other 
foothill counties, presented the same sociological conditions. The 
cultured and easy-living people of the low country regarded them 
as "yahoos," to use an expressive provincialism, and their fighting 
proclivities, as in the case of the westerner to-day, were exagger- 
ated. It was the coming of the railroads that wrought the 
change. 

Before concluding these cursory observations on the descent 
and characteristics of the first settlers of the wide section of Geor- 
gia that gave to the Southeast its chief city, it is well to refer to 
the fact that the so-called "cavalier" stock had little to do with 
laying the foundation of the new empire. The planter with his 
semi-feudal ideas and mode of life, descended from the old-line 
families of Virginia, was to be found further down in the state. 
Prosperous in his landed possessions, he had no motive to impel 
him to hew out a home in the wilderness to the north. "The 
Commonwealth of Georgia" says, apropos: "Middle Georgia, 
especially, is Virginian in modes of life, speech and manners. 
In common with her sister states of the old South, the ruling class 
have been the wealthy slave-owners and others in full sympathy 
with them." The historian could not have said this of North 
Georgia. Few slaves were owned in the entire region. True, 
the people were too poor to be slave-owners, and they had, in 
those times, no need for this kind of labor; but it must also be 
taken into consideration that they were not of slave-holding stock. 
A large proportion of them were of indentically the same strain as 
the Puritans. Indeed, hundreds of them were not even born in 
the South. Of these some were immigrants from the old world 
and some from New England and Middle states. Scotchmen as 
straight-laced as any disciples of John Knox on their native heath, 
and Irishmen of strong "Orange" prejudices, were vital factors 
in the building of North Georgia. Wallace Putnam Reed, in his 



1 8 Atlanta And Its Builders 

excellent history of Atlanta, notes this fact as follows : "It 
should be stated, however, that the state has received two note- 
worthy streams of immigration, one from Pennsylvania and one 
from New England. These immigrants at once mingled with 
the great mass of our people, and their descendants became typi- 
cal Georgians.*' To one interested in genealogy, a study of the 
biographies of the prominent early residents of this section affords 
abundant proof of this singular fact. Many of the streets of At- 
lanta named for respected and valuable pioneer citizens, bear the 
names of men born in New England or elsewhere in the North. 
This is true of such prominent pioneers as Jonathan Norcross, 
William Markham, Richard Peters, Edward E. Rawson, Frank 
P. Rice, Sidney Root, H. I. Kimball, L. P. Grant, and others that 
might be named. Others Southern born came of the sturdy 
Scotch or Irish stock that had so much to do with the develop- 
ment of Piedmont Georgia. They were not of cavalier ante- 
cedents. 



CHAPTER III 

WHEN ATLANTA WAS TERMINUS 

In the spring of 1836 the music of an axe echoed through the 
forest that covered the hills destined to furnish the site of Atlanta. 
The brain of the man who swung the axe was not excited with 
mental visions of a "future great" metropolis where inside lots 
brought a fabulous price per front foot, and an acre of sterile red 
clay was infinitely more valuable than all the "diggings" of the 
Cherokee Nation. It is doubtful if the inner vision of that hardy 
pioneer — Hardy Ivy — extended further than a stumpy clearing 
in the woods surrounding a snug cabin with his children play- 
ing about the door. The ambition that nerved his arm to strike 
was the common desire for a home, and in this instance the home- 
seeker was contented with a very humble one. Mr. Ivy was a 
poor man, but he possessed the better qualities of the frontiers- 
man. He had energy, pluck and courage. It had been his origi- 
nal intention to locate in or close to Decatur, but land was to be 
had almost for the clearing over toward the Chattahoochee, and 
leaving his family at Decatur, Mr. Ivy mounted a mule and 
went on a little land prospecting expedition in the uninhabited hill 
country to the west. Nothing but the settler's poverty led him to 
select the rough piece of woodland six miles above the county 
seat. It was forbidding enough. Hundreds of land-hunters 
had rambled over the unpromising soil before, and left it like the 
stone that the builders rejected. However, the tract was cheap, 
and that was the chief desideratum. Mr. Ivy concluded he 
could grub a living out of it, and preferred settling then and there 
to taking chances in the Cherokee lottery. Accordingly, he con- 
cluded the purchase, and having erected his log hut, removed his 
family to their new home sometime during the summer. 

As has been stated in a preceding chapter, the year in which 
Mr. Ivy made his settlement was a momentous one in project- 

19 



20 Atlanta And Its Builders 

ing railroad enterprises for Georgia. The convention attended 
by delegates from seven Southern states, which met at Knoxville, 
Tenn., on July 4, of that year, recommended the building of a 
road from Cincinnati to Knoxville, to connect with the two roads 
already in course of construction, one from Augusta, and the 
other from Macon. The Macon railroad convention, held in the 
fall, discussed a uniform system for the routes to be followed by 
the several projected roads, and passed resolutions calling upon 
the state to build the connecting link between the Tennessee and 
Chattahoochee rivers. By this time the work of construction was 
already in progress on the Central, Georgia and Monroe railroads, 
and a charter had been granted to the State road in the west, since 
known as the Western and Atlantic. The Macon convention was 
instrumental in securing the passage of a bill by the legislature 
that winter, extending the charters of these roads to meet the 
expansive ideas of the railroad enthusiasts of the state. This 
bill, which was bitterly fought by the non-progressive element 
from the back counties, passed by a very narrow majority on joint 
ballot in the general assembly. Governor Schley affixed his sig- 
nature to the act on the 21st of December, 1836. This legislative 
measure was of great importance in its bearing on the unborn 
metropolis. By its terms it authorized the "construction of a rail- 
road from the Tennessee line, near the Tennessee river, to the 
southwestern bank of the Chattahoochee river, at a point most 
eligible for the running of branch roads thence to Athens, Madi- 
son, Milledgeville, Forsyth and Columbus." This made the way 
clear for the long talked of connecting link between the great 
highways of commerce betweeen the Mississippi and Atlantic 
seaboard. It at once elevated the State road to the dignity of a 
great trunk line and forecasted its grand destiny. The determi- 
nation of the eligible point spoken of in the act, called Atlanta 
into being. 

The following spring (1837), Stephen H. Long, engineer- 
in-chief of the ambitious new railroad, went to the southwestern 
bank of the Chattahoochee to locate a suitable terminus, as direct- 
ed by the state. Mr. Long was a practical man with no axe to 
grind. He saw at once that the topography of the region made 
the plan of locating an important terminal and junction point any- 



When Atlanta Was Terminus 21 

where on the banks of the river unfeasible. Seven miles east of 
the river, however, he found what he considered the logical point 
for the purpose desired. Here the last foothills of the three great 
mountain ranges of the middle South converged in a manner that 
made them the natural roadbed for the proposed intersecting steel 
highways. Indeed, nothing was left for Mr. Long to do but 
acknowledge nature's provision in the matter. The place ap- 
proved by his scientific judgment was peculiarly well adapted for 
an important railroad center, and he selected it without any hesi- 
tation. There was no haphazard luck or land-scheming involved 
in making the selection. It was in strict conformity to the im- 
mutable law of eternal fitness. The intervening years which 
have made Atlanta the hub from which numerous railroad spokes 
radiate, have confirmed the wisdom of the chief engineer's action. 
In no other place could an Atlanta have been built. 

At the present day, an engineer bent on the performance of a 
mission such as that assigned to Mr. Long, would have been fol- 
lowed by an army of townsite promoters and speculators. Im- 
mediately upon the official approval of his selection, a rush to the 
"magic city" would have ensued, and ere a year had elapsed he 
farms for miles around would have been laid off in townsite addi- 
tions. There would have followed a veritable "boom," and the 
scandal of official collusion with land agents for personal gain 
would have been inevitable. Nothing of the kind attended the 
location of the South's greatest railroad center and her Empire 
State's future capital. Engineer Long completed his important 
work practically unnoticed, and Hardy Ivy went ahead clearing 
his ridge farm in sublime indifference to the official survey and 
apparently without suspecting that a fortune was within his 
grasp. A few curious or captious politicians rode over his and 
adjacent land and went away shaking their heads. The Chero- 
kee Nation boomers ran over it on their way to the latest El 
Dorado. It seems to have occurred to nobody to possess them- 
selves of a few acres and quietly await the coming of the railroad. 
It is likely that few had faith in the road ever being built. Sin- 
gular as it may seem now, a decided prejudice existed in the pop- 
ular mind against railroads. They were regarded by many as 
anything but a desirable acquisition to a town, for the reason that 



22 Atlanta And Its Builders 

they built up near-by competing trading points. The long haul 
wagon traffic was a great thing in those days, and the town lucky 
enough to be the commercial Mecca of the white-topped caravans 
was exceedingly jealous of having its supremacy disputed by an 
upstart railroad station in the vicinity. Decatur was bitterly op- 
posed to the new railroads coming to that flourishing wagon 
trade town, and if they must come, Mr. Long's paper metropolis 
was welcome to them. DeKalb's flourishing little court house 
town actually petitioned against the granting of a right of way 
through its corporate limits to the Georgia railroad, and by its 
determined opposition forced that road to run its track at some 
distance. This feeling prevailed in most of the interior towns of 
the state. The possibilities of development opened by the iron 
horse were appreciated by few, and it is to be doubted if the 
Macon convention represented the majority sentiment of the 
people. In that, as in most progressive movements, a handful of 
far-seeing, daring spirits, took the initiative while the great mass 
of citizens were either ignorant of their purpose or apathetic. 
Agitation was more apt to provoke a dangerous hostility than a 
favorable sentiment, and the general assembly had been none too 
soon in pushing its railroad measures to a vote. Generally speak- 
ing, the railroad was regarded as an innovation of questionable 
benefit or of positive detriment to the community. The logic 
back of the opposition to labor-saving machinery on the part of 
manual workers was advanced by this non-progressive element in 
opposition to the coming of the iron horse. In those days each 
community lived to itself and was much more co-operative than 
since mechanical progress made possible the universal interchange 
of commodities. Every town had its skilled independent mechan- 
ics and small proprietors to supply the commercial needs of the 
inhabitants. Wearing apparel, household articles and farm sup- 
plies were largely manufactured in a crude way by local ingenuity 
and labor, and an industrial condition that built up great, urban 
working hives for the production and distribution of the things 
that went to supply human convenience and necessity was natur- 
ally regarded with suspicion. The railroads changed the thrifty 
independence of many of the flourishing country towns of half a 
century or m< >re agi i to a condition of comparative unimportance, 



When Atlanta Was Terminus 23 

insufficient self-support and dependence. The "old fogies" had 
wit enough to foresee this, and hence their seeming lack of enter- 
prise. The most vociferous Othello of the time who feared his 
occupation would be gone was the teamster or wagoner who 
profited by the growing traffic as population increased. The men 
directly connected with or employed by the wagon trade were 
numerically strong and had much to do with exciting a bitter 
hostility to railroads. In not a few counties of Georgia this 
influential retrogressive element made their representative in the 
legislature pledge himself to oppose railroad legislation. In the 
vicinity of Atlanta there were men who made threats against the 
railroad property, and pioneer citizens residing in our midst recall 
the protestations of neighbors that they would never ride on the 
cars if they did come. 

The Cherokee reservation settled up, and still Hardy Ivy was 
the only denizen of the embryonic city. But the State road was 
slowly creeping Atlantaward from the west, and as it approached 
Marietta, interest in the eastern terminus seems to have been 
revived to the extent of inducing one more settler to cast his lot on 
the future townsite. This man was John Thrasher, who had not 
located there for agricultural purposes. He had an eye to the 
near future and erected a combination house and store room. 
This was in 1839. Mr. Thrasher put a few staple goods on his 
shelves and sat down to wait for customers. He took a partner 
named Johnson, the firm name being Johnson & Thrasher. Busi- 
ness was slow and the visits of customers few and far between. 
The store did not enjoy the advantages of a well located cross- 
roads general mercantile establishment, for it was out of the way 
and settlers living to the west of Terminus, as the place was be- 
ginning to be called, half in derision, as a rule continued to go to 
Decatur to trade. From the coming of John Thrasher, who was 
familiarly known to the few settlers of the vicinity as "Cousin 
John," until the coming of the railroad laborers to grade through 
the hamlet preparatory to laying the track, the dwellings in Ter- 
minus did not number over half a dozen, and these did not make 
the original Ivy cabin look humble in comparison. The early 
chronicles speak of Thrasher and an old woman and her daughter 
as the only residents of the place in the latter part of 1839. The 




First Two-story Frame Building in Atlanta. Built in 1836 and Still Standing 

This antiquated looking old structure, which is standing to-day in an out-of-the-way place on Trinity 
avenue not far from Trinity Methodist Church, where it receive* scant attention at the hands of the passer- 
by, is the first two-story frame building ever erected in Atlanta. No special effort has been made to preserve 
it, but some mysterious providence has kept it from disappearing-, and even amid the ravages of civil war 
when the city itself was destroyed by the torch and nearly every building burned to the ground, it managed to 
survive. Dating back to 1836, it was erected by the owners of the Western and Atlanta Railroad when this 
place, which was then an almost uninhabited wilderness, was first chosen as the terminal point of the line, and 
it was used as the headquarters of the company while the work of constructing the line was in progress. Ex- 
Chief Justice Logan E. Bleckley once kept books for the company in this building and religious services were 
frequently held upstairs by visiting ministers who came to the frontier settlement for the purpose of preaching 
to the future history-makers of Atlanta. Originally the buildin? stood on the site of what is now the Brown 
block near the Union passenger depot, but it was subsequently moved to where it now stands. 



When Atlanta Was Terminus 25 

railroad gang put in their appearance in the summer of 1842, and 
in June of the same year Willis Carlisle arrived and opened a 
store on what was afterward Marietta street, near the present 
location of the First Presbyterian church. Notwithstanding the 
graders were on the ground and the Chattahoochee already 
bridged, Thrasher moved to Griffin, declaring that Terminus was 
no good for trade and would never make anything with Decatur 
so close. At this time the population of Terminus was less than 
thirty, and the country round about was sparsely settled. 

Still, it cannot be denied that things began to look up in 
Terminus after dirt began to fly on the State road. The chief 
engineer had erected, not far from where the present car shed 
stands, a frame house, and two stories high at that, for the use of 
the officers of the road. For a year or two this unpretentious 
little building was regarded with great admiration by the citizens 
of the hamlet as the forerunner of valuable improvements. Men 
later distinguished as railroad magnates or public officers worked 
in this building as employees of the State railroad, among them 
Chief Justice Logan E. Bleckley, who years afterward served with 
distinction on the supreme bench of the state. Jonathan Nor- 
cross, the first mayor of the infant city, slept in this historic build- 
ing the first night he spent in the place. The structure, showing 
sadly the effect of time, can be seen to-day standing on Peters 
street, facing the side of Trinity church. It is one of Atlanta's 
most precious heirlooms of the past, and yet not one in a thousand 
of the city's inhabitants know of its location or historic associa- 
tions. Another important event of the latter half of 1842 was 
the birth of the first infant in Terminus. The little one, a girl, 
was the daughter of the new merchant, Willis Carlisle. She 
grew to womanhood in Atlanta and bcame the wife of the well- 
known iron founder, W. S. Withers. 

The leaves of the forest trees amid which the cabins of the 
little hamlet clustered had turned yellow, brown, and fallen, when 
the graders had completed their task and the iron bands bound 
Terminus to Marietta. This work was done with the help of a 
locomotive, and after the track was in shape to receive one, the 
officers of the road prepared to have an engine brought across the 
country from Madison, a distance of sixty miles. The task was 



26 Atlanta And Its Builders 

not an easy one, requiring an immense six-wheel wagon construct- 
ed for the purpose, and the propelling force of sixteen able-bodied 
Georgia mules. The work of hauling the locomotive over the 
rough roads consumed several days, but was attended by no acci- 
dent. Its arrival was made the occasion for a gala day by the 
citizens of Terminus and the hundred or more railroaders in their 
midst. It must be borne in mind that thousands of people in 
northwest Georgia had yet to see their first steam engine, to ap- 
preciate the full magnitude of this grand celebration. For days 
before the arrival of the locomotive long strings of farm wagons 
had been moving up the hills that led to Terminus, some of the 
occupants having come extremely long distances to see the marvel 
of the century. Hundreds of Cherokee settlers were in the crowd 
and DeKalb and adjoining counties were almost depopulated to 
swell the sea of humanity gathered in the ambitious little burg. 
It is said that every man, woman, child, negro and dog in Decatur 
came over to see the mechanical monster run. It was equal to the 
biggest kind of a county fair. The stores and refreshment stands 
drove a thriving trade for several days, and after the curiosity of 
the crowd had beeen appeased, Terminus found that her popula- 
tion had been nearly doubled on the strength of the opening of the 
railroad to traffic. The locomotive, attached to a box car, made 
its first trip to Marietta on the 24th of December, pulling away 
from Terminus under a full head of steam amid the deafening 
cheers of the assembled multitude, many of the more exuberant 
discharging their fire-arms in their enthusiasm. 

With the opening of the State road Terminus became a fairly 
good trading point, though there was no sudden boom and no 
realty holder became rich by quick transfers. The town moved 
on in humdrum country fashion, the merchants finding plenty of 
time to whittle goods boxes and swap yarns with their leisurely 
customers. There was a good deal of bartering in those days, 
and many frontiersmen used hides and furs in lieu of currency. 
The railroad gave the inhabitants no outlet for their small pro- 
duce, and after the work of constructing the railroad was finished, 
the local market was very limited. Butter, eggs and the other 
commodities of the small fanner were a drug on the market, and 
as these had to be taken by the merchants in exchange for their 



When Atlanta Was Terminus 27 

goods, if they did any business, it is easy to imagine that no great 
degree of prosperity resulted. The year following the opening 
of the road there was talk about Terminus being "overdone," and 
some of the business men are said to have moved to Marietta and 
Decatur. The great need felt by the town was an outlet to the 
larger cities of the coast, and the coming of a road from the east 
was impatiently awaited. Even with two other railroads headed 
her way and expected to arrive within two or three years at the 
furthest there seems to have been no speculative interest in Ter- 
minus. The few lot-holders were apparently more interested in 
what the ground would produce in the way of garden truck and 
Indian corn than what it would bring in the real estate market. 
An attempt was made as early as 1842 to get up a little real estate 
excitement by some of the larger realty holders, but it amounted 
to little. A land auction was held that year and an attempt made 
to sell off the famous Mitchell lot, a year or two later the source 
of dangerous ill-feeling and litigation in which many of the older 
citizens were concerned. Fred Arms acted as auctioneer, dispos- 
ing of three subdivisions to David Dougherty, Wash Collier and 
himself for a very modest sum. By this time there were perhaps 
a score of buildings in Terminus, most of them log dwellings. 
But five or six acres of the virgin forest had beeen cleared. The 
cross-roads leading to the hamlet, later known as Marietta, 
Peachtree, Decatur and Whitehall streets, were, when the place 
was known as Terminus, named for the original landowners, 
Reuben Cone, Ammi Williams, and Samuel Mitchell. After the 
railroad was finished, some of the laborers who had been thrown 
out of employment remained in the village, forming a rather dis- 
orderly and disreputable element of the population. They ren- 
dezvoused at a drinking dive kept by one of their number and 
spent their time largely in gambling and cock-fighting. 

The engine hauled over from Madison continued to make 
regular trips over the State road, with W. F. Adair at the throttle. 
It was one of the largest locomotives manufactured at that time 
and had been christened "Florida." As traffic with the west 
increased, the prospects of Terminus brightened. Travel over 
the road became quite an item in the town's support, many of the 
travelers stopping over night to take the train. There was no 



28 Atlanta And Its Builders 

tavern worthy of the name, but every house was an improvised 
inn. The entertainment of these transient guests helped to put 
money in circulation, and small things were not despised when 
Atlanta was in swaddling clothes. There was also quite a factor 
of support in the board and trade of the few railroad officials and 
employees who made their headquarters at Terminus. 

It was not until two railroads had arrived in the place that 
the inhabitants enjoyed school facilities or a regular place of wor- 
ship. No clergyman resided in Terminus, nor were there profes- 
sional men of any kind. However, occasionally a circuit rider of 
the Baptist or Methodist persuasion would ride into town and 
announce a meeting, generally in the open air. On such occa- 
sions the citizens would turn out en masse. Louis L. Parham, 
one of the best posted chroniclers of Atlanta's early days, says of 
the primitive religious gatherings: "Early worship in Terminus 
was not conducive to great spirituality. However devout these 
pioneers, when it is considered how scant the means for commun- 
ion, it precludes the thought that 'goin' to meetin' ' was other than 
irksome. And yet it is recorded that the handful of worshippers 
who gathered Sundays in any place offered them to worship the 
God of their fathers, were as devout as any of this day. The first 
place where services were held in the rude hamlet was in the open 
air near a cut made by the railroad builders. Some large rocks 
had beeen thrown out by the blasters, and on these a handful of 
men, women and children sat and listened to the simple services — 
'praised God from whom all blessings flow.' They had the blue 
canopy of the heavens for a covering and the earth for a footstool. 
But this was not for long. As the place grew it became necessary 
to have a house in which to hold services. Occasionally they met 
in a two-story frame office building which belonged to the West- 
ern and Atlantic railroad and stood on a lot now occupied by the 
Southern Express company and the Brown building on Wall 
street." The building referred to by Mr. Parham was the frame 
structure used as headquarters by the officers of the old State 
road, spoken of in the foregoing. 



s 



CHAPTER IV 

WHEN ATLANTA WAS MARTHASVILLE 

The hamlet went by the name of Terminus scarcely two' 
years. In the spring of 1843 somebody, who probably found 
time hanging heavy on his hands, began an agitation to change 
the name of the burg. Through most of the summer the pro- 
posed change of name was the principal topic of discussion among 
the ten or a dozen families who inhabited the place. Ex-Gover- 
nor Lumpkin had been a tireless worker for the railroad develop- 
ment of Georgia and was regarded as an especial friend of Termi- 
nus. Efforts were being made to get him to make or influence 
others to make some investments there, and somebody who be- 
lieved with Shakespeare that there was nothing in a name, sug- 
gested that Terminus be re-christened Marthasville, in honor of 
Governor Lumpkin's daughter Martha. The handful of deni- 
zens, with unanimous bad taste, fell in with the idea, and the 
meaningless but quaint name of Marthasville was adopted by 
common consent. When the legislature convened in the winter it 
was petitioned for a charter under the new name, and on the 23d 
of December the village was formally incorporated as Marthas- 
ville. The name Terminus, which at least meant something, fell 
into desuetude. In speaking of this action on the part of the Ter- 
minusites, the well-known early historian, E. Y. Clarke, says : 
"This may appear to have been quite fast for a community of ten 
families at most ; but it should be regarded rather as the evidence, 
or first manifestation, of that spirit of enterprise which afterwards 
became so distinctive an element of progress." 

It may prove interesting, at this distant day, to give excerpts 
from the act of incorporation and to dwell somewhat upon the 
first year or two's political organization. Few of the village 
records have been preserved, and already the history of Marthas- 

29 



30 Atlanta And Its Builders 

ville as a municipality is little more than tradition. The pream- 
ble of the act of incorporation follows : 

"Be it enacted, etc., that from and after the passage of this 
act, L. V. Gannon, John Bailey, Willis Carlisle, John Kile, sr., 
and Patrick Quinn, be, and they arc hereby, appointed commis- 
sioners of the town of Marthas ville, in the county of DeKalb, situ- 
ated at the southeast terminus of the Western and Atlantic rail- 
road ; and they, or a majority of them and their successors in 
office, shall have power and authority to pass all by-laws and 
ordinances which they or a majority of them may deem expedient 
and necessary for the improvement and benefit of the internal 
police of the said town; provided, nevertheless, that said by-laws 
be not repugnant to the constitution of the United States, nor to 
the constitution and laws of this state.'' 

The first commissioners were to hold their office until the 
first Monday in March, 1845, when, and on the same day in each 
subsequent year, a town election was to be held to elect five com- 
missioners. Under the provisions of the charter these officials 
were empowered to convene at such time and place within the 
corporate limits of the town as they might elect, and proceed to 
select a clerk of the board and transact such business as might 
properly come before them. They were given corporate jurisdic- 
tion to the extent of the boundary lines of the town, with the 
provision that their jurisdiction should be extended as the bound- 
ary lines of the town were extended. 

The first year of the history of Marthasville, from all ac- 
counts of the surviving pioneers, was a good deal in the nature of 
a "kangaroo" government. A few ordinances of the most rudi- 
mentary kind were passed with due solemnity, but they were not 
respected by the citizenry, nor was much effort made to enforce 
them. The spasmodic weak attempts to try offenders only 
brought ridicule upon the grave and reverend law-makers and the 
officers entrusted with the enforcement of their laws. The people 
continued to live as though they were squatter sovereigns in the 
back woods, and their bucolic ways were undisturbed by superflu- 
ous metropolitan frills. The attempt to collect corporation taxes 
resulted in a "water haul," and the town was utterly without 
financial resources. As a consequence, the ordinances for the 




George W. Adair 



This pioneer citizen came to Atlanta as con- 
ductor on the first train which entered the 
city over the Georgia Railroad in Septem- 
ber, 1845. 



$2 Atlanta And Its Builders 

laving" out and improvement of streets were dead letters. The 
most ambitions "avenues" remained mere cow trails, and citizens 
had to jump across a "deer lick" to walk across the "business 
center." The riff-raff railroad element of the population, by this 
time considerably augmented, grew more turbulent and refractory 
as the impotence of the local authorities was realized. As is fre- 
quently the case in small communities, political antipathies and 
jealousies seem to have divided the population into factions, and 
the "administration," on the whole, was very unpopular. 

In 1845 there was a "new deal" at the town election, but one 
of the five commissioners, Willis Carlisle, the merchant, being 
returned to the board. The commissioners elected in March of 
that year were as follows : Ambrose B. Forsyth, Willis Carlisle, 
Stephen Terry, James Loyd, sr., and James A. Collins. Among 
the above names will be recognized some that were later promi- 
nent in the public spirit and enterprise of the growing town. 

The year 1845 was an eventful one in the history of Marthas- 
ville. The Georgia Railroad, which for several years had been 
toilsomely creeping from Augusta up the Piedmont slope, was 
completed to Marthasville in the latter part of the summer of that 
year, and on September 15 the first train came through from the 
seaboard. As may well be believed, this marked a great epoch in 
the progress of the little city on the hills, and was made the occa- 
sion for a jollification that eclipsed the demonstration celebrating 
the arrival of the Western and Atlantic a little less than three 
years before. The old State line had not proven of much prac- 
tical benefit to Marthasville, because, as the natives expressed it, it 
"didn't go nowhere." At the time of the arrival of the Georgia 
Railroad the western connecting line was a rickety sort of "jerk- 
water railroad," operated but a little way the other side of Mari- 
etta. The coming of the Georgia was hailed by Marthasville as 
the real beginning of her career as a railroad center. It was after 
nightfall when the first train rolled heavily to a stop in the center 
of the village, having aboard the president of the road. Judge 
John P. King, his associate officials, and a distinguished party of 
citizens from Augusta and intermediate points. Bonfires leapt 
high in air and hoarse cheers from hundreds of throats greeted 
the pioneer train and its occupants. Arrangements had been 



When Atlanta Was Marthasville 33 

made for a grand reception to the lowlanders, and the following 
day was spent in feasting and drinking by the thousands of people 
gathered to welcome the Georgia Railroad to Marthasville. As 
was usual in political campaigns and on gala occasions, the big 
crowd resorted to Walton Spring, just at the edge of the town- 
site, where speech-making was indulged in by the railroad visitors 
and the local orators. In these speeches, which were cheered to 
the echo, great things were predicted for Marthasville. 

An incident which cost one man his life, and another of the 
same nature which was narrowly averted by Judge King, were ex- 
citing incidents of the day. Near the rude depot was a deep well 
which had been carelessly left uncovered. Stepping off the train 
in the darkness, the president of the new railroad, after being taken 
in charge by a local committee, proceeded a few paces toward the 
hotel, and as he was responding to the hearty greetings on every 
hand, he tottered upon the brink of the dangerous hole, the exist- 
ence of which was evidently forgotten in the excitement. A 
dozen hands were outstretched to save him, and he was drawn 
back to safety in the nick of time. The incident shocked Judge 
King greatly, and he received hundreds of congratulations on his 
escape. His death at that time would have been nothing short of 
a public calamity, being, as he was, the railroad genius of Georgia. 
As if Judge King's close call were not warning enough to cause 
the town authorities to close the hole forthwith, another man fell 
into the well a few hours later and was drowned. 

With the coming of the second railroad, Marthasville had a 
newspaper, founded the same summer. The tiny, crudely print- 
ed sheet called The Luminary, was owned and edited by Rev. 
Joseph Baker, a Baptist minister of the old school, and its con- 
tents were more religious than secular, though to keep up with the 
local happenings was not calculated to tax its diminutive space. 
Editor Baker was a good man and had a wide circle of friends, 
but his journal eked out a precarious existence of a few months 
and was forgotten. There existed ample occasion for a moral 
reform sheet in Marthasville at the time the Luminary entered the 
journalistic wilderness, and the reverend editor seems to have 
taken such a policy as a large part of his mission. 

By this time the sore need of a building in which to hold 
religious services and school had resulted in the erection by the 

3-1 



34 Atlanta And Its Builders 

citizens of a non-denominational church and school house com- 
bined. The structure, a small, weatherboarded one-story house 
with old fashioned chimneys at each end, was built by popular 
subscription and occupied a little clearing to one side of the Deca- 
tur road, upon the present Scofield lot, between Peachtree and 
Houston streets, diagonally across from the First Methodist 
church. Preaching even at this date was irregular and there 
seems to have been no resident pastor. It is said that the first 
sermon was delivered in the new church by Rev. Dr. J. S. Wilson, 
who afterwards became the pastor of the First Presbyterian 
church of Atlanta. The various denominations were all repre- 
sented in a small way, and when a clergyman of a particular sect 
came to town, he "held forth" to those of his church in the little 
school house. In this manner the different religious organiza- 
tions "took turns" in using the structure as a place of worship 
until they were able to build separate houses of worship. During 
the week a public school was conducted in the building. 

Some men of sterling qualities and strongly imbued with the 
town-building spirit had cast their lot in Marthasville. Jonathan 
Norcross, notable among these, began his business career as the 
owner and operator of what was literally a one-horse saw mill. 
This rude manufactory was located in the lower end of the town, 
on the spot occupied by the old Atlanta and West Point depot. 
The locality was known as Slabtown, in consequence of so many 
huts in the vicinity being built of the slabs turned out at the mill. 
The motive power was an old blind horse. About the time of the 
arrival of the Georgia Railroad, Mr. Norcross opened a general 
merchandise store. John Thrasher, the pioneer merchant, having 
heard that Marthasville was forging rapidly to the front, returned 
from Griffin, and having accumulated a little money invested it in 
town lots. By this time a number of business branches were 
represented. Collins & Loyd and A. B. Forsyth conducted gen- 
eral stores, and a man named Kile a small grocery. There was 
a bonnet and hat store run by a man by the name of Dunn, and 
Stephen Terry had a real estate office. In addition there were 
several "eating houses," one of which affected the dignity of a 
hotel. Dr. George G. Smith was a physician. Hardy Ivy still 
resided in the neighborhood, and a son, Socrates Ivy, born to him 



When Atlanta Was Marthasville 35 

on November 2, 1844, was the first male child born on the town- 
site. T. G. Crusselle was a prominent and active citizen, having 
come with the entry of the State road as a contractor. He bnilt a 
log shanty for the accommodation of railroad hands on the site of 
the Kimball block, the only building at Terminus at the time, 
excepting Thrasher's store and another hut. The next year after 
the State road reached Terminus, Mr. Crusselle superintended 
the moving of a story-and-a-half house by rail from Bolton. 
The structure was supported in an upright position upon two 
freight cars, Crusselle and his men riding upon the roof some 
twenty feet above the track. The house narrowly missed top- 
pling over into the Chattahoochee as it was being hauled across 
the bridge. It was this building that boasted of being Marthas- 
ville's first hotel. F. C. Orme was the postmaster, with Lewis 
H. Clarke as his assistant. Among the other well-remembered 
residents of this period were Painter Smith, Hack & Bryant, 
Joseph Thompson, William Crawford, and Mrs. Oslin, the inn 
landlady. 

The fall that witnessed the running of trains between Augus- 
ta and Marthasville saw the western terminal point a straggling 
hamlet of a score of houses. With the exception of the residences 
of James A. Collins and Stephen Terry, which were constructed of 
lumber, the dwellings were built of logs or slabs from the saw 
mill. No man of any considerable means lived in the place, and 
those who had acquired a foothold on the townsite had done so 
with a trifling cash outlay. Land could be bought not far from 
the center of the village for from $3 to $4 an acre, and a good 
business lot was slow sale at $50. The Ivy farm embraced much 
of what was later the fashionable Peachtree district, and the tract 
of about one hundred acres was sold by the old pioneer for a few 
hundred dollars. Had he held it he would have been a million- 
aire. The Mitchell property constituted the cream of the town- 
site, and repeated efforts to sell lots from it at auction met with 
indifferent success. Probably in all there was not over a dozen 
acres of land cleared, exclusive of five acres donated by Mitchell 
for a public square and railroad purposes. The hamlet was un- 
sightly, and after a hard rain the muddy cross roads where the 
four or five stores clustered were well nigh impassable. The 



36 Atlanta And Its Builders 

countrymen who came to the place to exchange their products for 
merchandise were generally a poverty-stricken lot, uncouth in 
looks and manners, and given to an inordinate consumption of a 
very crude species of corn whiskey. On Saturday, the chief 
trading day, it is said the "sagers" were wont to "take the town," 
and, to carry the colloquialism further, "paint it red." There 
was no little disorder, to which the railroad "rowdies" largely 
contributed, and with which the local authorities were unable to 
cope. When Marthasville began to grow in earnest, after the 
Georgia road came, it presented the lively and picturesque appear- 
ance of a frontier town, particularly on the busiest market days 
and public occasions. Canvas-topped mountain wagons with 
curved, scow-like beds, rolled in by the score, long-barreled squir- 
rel rifles leaning against the front seat beside the husky driver and 
a troop of hounds and nondescript curs following behind. These 
rural visitors from a long distance usually camped in the public 
square and stayed several days. As they sought the railroad only 
at long intervals, they were heavy purchasers and the merchants 
exhibited enterprise in endeavoring to attract and hold their 
trade. There was much rivalry between the new town and De- 
catur, which up to this time had not been materially affected by 
her rival's struggling existence. Thenceforth, however, the 
county-seat realized that Marthasville was a very serious factor to 
reckon with, and began to lose ground. Cotton, wheat, and other 
staple country products came to the railroad point in steadily 
increasing quantity, and the town grew apace. 

Before closing this fragmentary record of the first year or 
two of the corporate existence of Marthasville, it will interest our 
readers to supplement this chapter with an extract from a paper 
on the early history of the place which was printed in the Atlanta 
Journal, under date of December 15, 1883. The paper in ques- 
tion describes the hamlet just before the completion of the Georgia 
Railroad and the celebration of that event, as follows: 

"The completion of the first railroad was a great epoch in the 
history of the town, which was called at that time Marthasville. 
Before this, however, the Western and Atlantic was slowly work- 
ing its way to the town, and at that time was in working condition 
about as far as Marietta, maybe a little further. This, however. 



When Atlanta Was Marthasville 37 

was not sufficient for carrying on the commerce of the town, small 
as it was. In 1845 Marthasville was too small to be called a 
village. The four, now principal, streets of the city were then 
straggling country roads, and the only clearing of any importance 
was right at their junction. Only about twelve or fourteen fam- 
ilies resided here, and the entire population was estimated to be 
about one hundred souls. The dwellings were mostly log cabins, 
such as to-day may be seen on the frontier in the West. On the 
southwest corner of Marietta and Peachtree streets stood a small 
grocery story, owned by Jonathan Norcross. Fronting this stood 
Kile's grocery store, and down near where the Markham House 
now stands was a grocery store kept by Collins & Loyd. In the 
rear of the Republic block, on Pryor street, stood a two-story 
frame building which was used by the officers of the Western and 
Atlantic railroad. On Peachtree street, near the site of the First 
Methodist church, stood a small wooden building used as a school 
house, church and public hall. These were the most notable fea- 
tures of that time. On the 15th of September, 1845, tne Georgia 
Railroad was completed to Augusta, and the first through train 
came to Marthasville, bearing Judge John P. King, the president 
of the road, and several other railway magnates and distinguished 
persons. The scene in the neighborhood of the depot can be 
better imagined than described. Almost the whole population 
were present, and the wildest excitement prevailed. Farmers in 
the country, for forty miles around, had heard of the advent of 
the iron horse for days, and when die time arrived they were on 
hand in force. Some came in one-ox carts, with their families, 
and from the supply of provisions which they brought it was evi- 
dent that they intended to have a jubilee. Atlanta has had bigger 
crowds, but never one so wild and delirious with excitement. The 
locomotive was eagerly inspected, the cars were examined inside 
and out, the engineer and fireman were interviewed, the conductor 
was looked upon as a hero, the president of the road and the other 
distinguished gentlemen were heartily welcomed. The enthusi- 
asm of. the people knew no bounds, and in accordance with the 
times, a mass meeting was held. The place chosen was about a 
half mile northwest of the depot, Walton Spring. The names of 
the speakers have not been handed down to this generation, but 



38 Atlanta And Its Builders 

among them was Colonel John M. Clarke, the father of our well- 
known fellow citizen. Colonel E. Y. Clarke. An old gentleman 
who was present at this meeting informed the writer that the 
address was a masterpiece of eloquence and created tremendous 
enthusiasm. The speaker pictured, in a prophetic way, the future 
of Atlanta, dwelt upon the importance of commercial facilities, 
and speaking of the Georgia road, said that its completion had 
'tied the ocean to the hills.' 

"With a railroad to Augusta, Marthasville began to grow 
rapidly. Such men as Jonathan Norcross, James Collins, Dr. 
George G. Smith, A. P. Forsyth, Joseph Thompson, Thomas 
Kile, William Kile, the Joys, David Dougherty, Wash. Collier, 
'Cousin' John Thrasher, the McDaniels, Colonel L. P. Grant, 
Judge Hayden, and others, began to put forth their best efforts 
to build up the town and raise it to a condition of law and order. 
The attention of capitalists and speculators was drawn to the 
place, and many made investments which laid the foundation of 
subsequent fortunes. About this time John C. Calhoun, while 
journeying to another point, stopped in the town, and with his 
far-seeing sagacity, predicted that the place would one day be the 
most important inland city in the South. Business naturally 
improved under these conditions. Merchants enlarged their 
stores, and also built new ones, and a better class of dwellings 
sprang up. The citizens were so full of their dreams of future 
greatness and prosperity that a general desire was felt to shake off 
the name of Marthasville. They wanted a name with a bigger 
sound, and Atlanta was suggested by J. Edgar Thompson, chief 
engineer of the Georgia Railroad. The name struck the popular 
fancy, and it was unanimously agreed that it filled a long-felt 
want. There was no charter, no regularly organized government, 
but by common consent the name of Atlanta was adopted and rec- 
ognized by the railroad authorities and everybody. The minister 
who preached the first sermon in Atlanta, the Rev. F. M. Hay- 
good, recently passed away at his home in this city, having reached 
the patriarchal limit of four score years. Mr. Haygood, in one of 
his trips, reached here in 1846. Meeting Mr. Jonathan Norcross, 
he soon learned that Marthasville was no more, and that Atlanta 
was the newly adopted name. The next day Mr. Haygood held 






When Atlanta JVas Marthasvillc 39 

service in the school house, and preached from the first chapter of 
John, 29th verse, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the 
sin of the world.' This was the first sermon ever preached in 
Atlanta. Before dismissing this matter of the naming of the 
place, it is proper to state, however, that the name of Atlanta was 
not duly recognized and legalized by the legislature until more 
than a year later — some time in December, 1847. 

"Probably a year after the first railroad reached Atlanta, the 
population did not number more than four hundred persons, but 
that was considered rapid progress, under the circumstances. In 
our early days there was very little law in the place. Every man 
stood ready to resent an insult, and to defend his person and 
property with a shot gun or pistol. A population consisting of 
dangerous and bad characters annoyed the citizens not a little, and 
it took the most determined measures to keep peace and order." 



CHAPTER V 

SOME EARLY CONDITIONS AND INCIDENTS 

It is safe to say that Marthasville trebled her population 
within a year after the completion of the Georgia Railroad. This 
brief period witnessed the completion of a third railroad — the 
Macon & Western, over which the first train was run to Marthas- 
ville in 1846. The little town, by this time fully conscious of its 
bright destiny, was wide awake and aggressive in pushing its 
interests and publishing its advantages. The third great railroad 
accession was greeted with a jollification mass meeting, as the 
other two had been, and it is recorded that this celebration sur- 
passed all preceding occasions of the kind by far in point of at- 
tendance and enthusiasm. Daniel Floyd and Mark A. Cooper 
were the orators of the day. The arrival of the Macon & West- 
ern caused a great shaking up in real estate circles and had much 
to do in making and unmaking fortunes, as witness the following 
account of realty affairs by Colonel E. Y. Clarke : 

"It was intended at first to build the depot of this road near 
the present round-house of the Western & Atlantic railroad, and 
the embankment by the mineral spring, known as the 'Monroe 
Road,' that being the name of the Macon & Western before it 
changed hands. This intention of the management occasioned 
great excitement in the village. Those who had settled near the 
present passenger depot became alarmed for fear that the junction 
of the two roads would become the business center of the future 
town. Hence they determined to induce the president of the 
Macon road to abandon the original purpose, and make the junc- 
tion and depot near the terminus of the State road, or present 
general passenger depot. To do this, Mitchell offered ground 
for the depot, and it was accepted. This was a turning point in 
the affairs of Marthasville, and fixed the location of the coming 

40 




Er Lawshe 



One of Atlanta's early pioneer citizens who 
was instrumental in subduing the lawless 
element of the community before the 
courts became effective and who was an 
active promoter of all public enterprises. 



42 Atlanta And Its Builders 

city; but it proved an over-turning point for some of its people, 
among whom was Cousin John Thrasher, who had bought one 
hundred acres in the vicinity of the first proposed depot of the 
Macon road, but sold out in disgust, and at half cost, upon learn- 
ing of the change of base. The property which he thus disposed 
of at four dollars per acre, he lived to see worth at least half a 
million." 

There were other men besides Mr. Thrasher who, even with 
three railroads intersecting there, could not bring themselves to 
see much of a future for Marthasville. Several of the original 
investors pulled out. Colonel Long, then chief engineer of the 
Georgia Railroad, ridiculed the ambitions of the town and depre- 
ciated its possibilities, declaring that it would gradually settle 
down to a wood station, with a cross-roads store or two and a 
blacksmith shop. He deliberately turned his back on his golden 
opportunities and invested his money in Marietta. In this con- 
nection Historian Clarke says: "Partly to this want of confi- 
dence, and of the failure to secure a new charter, providing for 
commissioners to lay out streets, is due the irregularity of our 
street system ; everybody building where he pleased, without ref- 
erence to any plan." 

But men who had the faith that would stake its last dollar 
on the destiny of the town were not lacking in Marthasville. 
Upon the completion of the Macon road and until the city of 
Atlanta was formally organized less than two years later, the 
active spirits in the advancement of the town were : Jonathan 
Norcross, A. W. Mitchell, I. O. McDaniel, Allen E. Johnson, 
Jonas Smith, John Collier, Eli Hulsey, L. C. Simpson, Terence 
Doonan, Dr. Joseph Thompson, James Loyd, Edwin Payne, 
Reuben Cone, J. A. Hayden, John A. Doane, Edward Holland, 
William Herring, Dr. N. L. Angier, William G. Forsyth, Thomas 
Kile, Jacob Johnson, James A. Collins, A. K. Seago, Rev. Joseph 
Baker, John Silvey, John R. Wallace, Dr. J. F. Alexander, S. B. 
Hoyt, Rev. David G. Daniel, A. W. Walton, Joseph Meade, John 
Weaver, L. P. Grant, Richard Peters, Thomas G. Crusselle, 
Thomas G. Healey, Z. A. Rice, Moses Formwalt, Benjamin F. 
Bomar, H. C. Holcombe, Dr. W. H. Fernerden, C. R. Hanleiter, 
Er Lawshe, R. W. Bullard, George Shaw, Patrick Lynch, and 



Early Conditions And Incidents 43 

Messrs. Mann, Davis, Roark, Trout, Morgan, Levi, Haas, Wheat, 
Bell, Humphries, Crew and Haynes. The first lawyer was L. C. 
Simpson, with whom John T. Wilson and S. B. Hoyt studied. 

Three lively weekly newspapers were established in Marthas- 
ville at this period, but they met the same fate as The Luminary. 
The Democrat was published by Dr. W. H. Fernerden; the En- 
terprise by Royal & Yarborough, and the Southern Miscellany, by 
C. R. Hanleiter. 

The first Sunday school was organized on the second Sunday 
in June, 1847, m the historic little church and school house built 
by popular subscription. The records and minutes of this Sun- 
day school, which have been preserved, are especially interesting 
in preserving the names of many of the early citizens. As high 
as seventy pupils were enrolled. This school was non-denomina- 
tional, and was known as the Atlanta Union Sabbath school. 
James A. Collins and Oswald Houston were the first superintend- 
ents of this pioneer Sunday school. Robert M. Clarke was the 
first secretary and treasurer, and R. M. Browne the first librarian. 
From the records we learn that Edwin Payne, A. F. Luckie and 

A. E. Johnson were selected as a committee to solicit subscrip- 
tions for carrying out the plans of the organization. The list of 
those who made the first subscriptions is as follows : 

James A. Collins, W. R. Venable, W. T. Bell, W. A. Harp, 
F. F. Hight, William Printup, Mary J. Thompson, James M. Bal- 
lard, M. A. Thompson, William Henry Fernerden, A. L. Hous- 
ton, A. T. Luckie, W. B. Chapman, George W. Thomasson, A. B. 
Forsyth, George Tomlinson, J. C. Linthicum, S. T. Downs, J. R. 
Wallace and T. S. Luckie. In the subscription list of the next 
year the following additional names are noted : D. G. Daniel, 
Jonathan Norcross, L. C. Simpson, "Miscellany," J. W. Evans, 
W. Buell, R. W. Ballard, David Thurman, H. Matheson, H. A. 
Fraser, Thomas Rusk, James McPherson, A. W. Walton, J. V. 
W. Rhodes, Samuel Wells, Joseph Thompson, S. Goodall, J. T. 
Burns, G. M. Troup Perryman, H. C. Holcombe, Z. A. Rice, 
George W. Cook, J. Wells, A. W. Wheat, J. W. Demby, W. L. 
Wright, H. M. Boyd, Haas & Levi, J. T. Doane, W. H.' Wilson, 

B. F. Bomar, A. E. Johnson, W. J. Houston, F. Kicklighter, O. 
Houston, A. L. Houston, J. J. Smith, William P. Orme, Logan 



44 Atlanta And Its Builders 

E. Bleckley, A. Wooding, C. H. Yarborough, J. R. Crawford, 
R. J. Browne, Lewis Lawshe, W. L. Wingfield and M. J. Ivey. 

A mental glance at the Marthasville in which these men lived 
and labored will be interesting before we proceed to the Atlanta 
period, and a more comprehensive view of the kind cannot be 
given that to quote from Wallace Putnam Reed's description of 
the town at the time. He says : 

"Toward the close of the Marthasville period the town was 
laid out, according to Colonel Z. A. Rice, about as follows : There 
were four roads — Peachtree, running in from Peachtree creek ; 
Marietta, coming from the town of that name; Whitehall, named 
from a large white house which stood at its terminus in West 
End, and Decatur, connecting with that town. These roads met 
where the artesian well now stands, and the junction was known 
as the 'cross-roads.' Whitehall road then extended to the Deca- 
tur and Marietta roads, instead of terminating at the railroad. 
On the northwest corner of this junction stood the grocery store 
kept by a man named Kile ; on the northeast corner was Mr. 
Wash. Collier's grocery, containing the post-office; the southwest 
corner was known as 'Norcross's Corner,' and on it stood a gen- 
eral store owned by Jonathan Norcross. The southeast corner 
was vacant. The lot on which the Atlanta hotel stood w 7 as not 
far from this corner. The hotel was a brick building of two 
stories, and the lot on which it stood is now the site of the Kimball 
House. Pryor street commenced on the north side of Decatur, 
and ran out to the woods, some three or four hundred yards away. 
Ivy and Butler streets were scarcely recognizable as streets, as in 
that part of the town the forest had not been cleared away. Broad 
street commenced at Marietta and ran northward to the woods. 
Alabama street was a mere country road. The depot or car shed 
stood opposite the hotel, and stretched across the ground through 
which Pryor street now runs. A little to the northward stood 
the Central Railroad freight depot, and a short distance off on 
the south side were the Georgia Railroad shops and turn-table. 
The block fronting the Kimball House at that time ran back to 
Loyd street, and was vacant, with the exception of the Western 
and Atlantic freight depot, which faced Decatur street on the 
o irner of Loyd, and a railroad track which ran across the lot to 



Early Conditions And Incidents 45 

the depot. It was in the middle of this lot that the Fillmore pole 
was raised during a memorable political campaign, and the 
ground was sometimes used by circuses. On the lot now occu- 
pied by the Markham House, facing Loyd street, was the Wash- 
ington Hall, a hotel kept first by James Loyd, and afterwards by 
Rice&Holcombe. Next to this stood Robert Clarke's grocery store. 
Back of the post-office, on the corner of Decatur and Peachtree 
streets, was a bar-room, a tin-shop kept by Moses Formwalt — the 
first manufacturing enterprise of the kind in the place — and 
several grocery stores. Alabama street had a store or two, but 
there was nothing more. On the corner of Broad and Marietta 
was a cotton warehouse owned by Colonel Rice's father. No- 
body predicted that Marthasville would ever be a great city, and 
real estate commanded low prices. The Inman lot, on the south- 
west corner of Forsyth and Mitchell streets, then contained four 
acres, and extended to the railroad. Judge John Collier offered 
seventy-five dollars an acre for it, and was about to complete the 
purchase, when the owner demanded eighty dollars an acre. The 
judge thereupon declined to buy. The place is now easily worth 
about $40,000." 

The Atlanta Hotel was the first pretentious building erected 
in Marthasville. The need of a hostelry of some size and a dig- 
nity commensurate with the town's ambitions was felt by every 
loyal Marthasvillan. and after the Georgia Railroad had made the 
destiny of the place doubly sure, that enterprising corporation set 
about to build the long talked of new hotel. The bulk of the 
work was done in 1846, and the hotel was given its name before 
the name of the town was changed by act of the legislature. The 
two-story brick structure with its broad, rambling galleries of 
the ante-bellum style stood as a prophetic monument of the city 
that was to be. It had two entrances, one on Pryor street and 
one on Wall street, and its appearance was rather imposing. It 
stood in the midst of a park which until after the war was a 
favorite loitering place of leisurely citizens and strangers. Dr. 
Thompson, the father of Joseph Thompson, was the landlord of 
the Atlanta Hotel. He soon purchased the property, paying, it is 
said, $10,000 for the building and the whole square. The Wash- 
ington Hall, kept by James Loyd, divided the hotel patronage of 



46 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the town with the more handsome Atlanta Hotel. It was a large 
wooden building, to which additions had been made to accommo- 
date the growing trade. As hotel caste went, Washington Hall 
did not grade as high as the Atlanta Hotel. 

The religious people of Marthasville were active in provid- 
ing themselves suitable places of worship. The Methodists built 
a comfortable and rather commodious frame structure near the 
spot on which the First Methodist church is located. This pion- 
eer church was known as Wesley Chapel, and it was for years the 
scene of fervent devotional exercises such as only the old-time 
disciples of John Wesley enjoyed. There was "powerful 
preaching" in the little sanctuary in those days. Before Wesley 
Chapel was built the Methodists had had to resort to a cotton 
warehouse on Wheat street to find room for the large congrega- 
tions that attended quarterly meetings and revivals. The Bap- 
tists were little behind the Methodists in building their own house 
of worship. The lot at the corner of North Forsyth and Walton 
streets, now occupied by the First Baptist church, was purchased 
in 1847, an d by the following summer the congregation was wor- 
shipping in a neat little wooden church. The Presbyterians did 
not begin the erection of their church building until 1850, in the 
meantime continuing to hold regular services in the school house 
and private buildings. About the same time several fraternal 
societies were organized. Atlanta Lodge of Masons, No. 59. w r as 
organized April 13, 1846, and on the 3d of May following Mount 
Zion Chapter, No. 16, was chartered. Even the names of the 
secret societies that flourished in those days are almost forgotten. 

In contrast to the moral side of life in Marthasville, it is 
probably no exaggeration to say that there was not a "tougher" 
town in the state of Georgia. As the place grew and became 
more distinctively a railroad center, the vices common to rough 
frontier settlements in all times held high carnival. Drinking 
resorts, gambling dives and brothels were run "wide open," and 
what is commonly known as the "sporting" element w'ere insolent 
in their defiance of public order and decency. The block on De- 
catur street, between Peachtree and Pryor, was given over to this 
unsavory ilk. The locality was known as Murrell's Row, so- 
called in honor (?) of a notorious Tennessee outlaw of that day, 



Early Conditions And Incidents 47 

whose exploits were the favorite theme of conversation among 
the semi-outlaws of the quarter. Crimes and misdeeds worthy 
of the wild Murrell were supposed to comport with the ethics of 
the habitues of Murrell's Row. It does not appear, however, that 
any grave crimes were committed by these "rowdies" during the 
period that the place was known as Marthasville. The first hom- 
icide did not occur until some time in 1848, when a man by the 
name of Mc Williams was stabbed and killed by one Bill Terrell, 
who made good his escape. The chief amusement of the Mur- 
rellites was cock-fighting. There were several cock-pits in the 
rear of the block, and some of the fights held therein attracted 
hundreds of spectators. The low wooden shanties of the quarter, 
many of them built of rough slabs, harbored all kinds of games of 
chance, and some of them were downright robber's dens. Nearly 
every other building was a groggery, in which drunken rows were 
of almost hourly occurrence. On Saturday nights it was com- 
mon to have free-for-all fights that assumed the proportions of a 
riot. 

It follows that some restraints were necessary to hold in 
check such an unruly class, and these were inadequately found in 
the local courts, which made a show of punishing the worst of- 
fenders. A little slab calaboose stood on the corner of Alabama 
and Pryor streets, which place of confinement was always full of 
culprits — between deliveries. Every day or two there was a de- 
livery. Sometimes the prisoners would burrow out, and some- 
times they would simply turn the frail structure over by main 
strength and walk back to Murrell's Row without molestation. 
Once, when a general row had packed the calaboose with "row- 
dies," the comrades of the prisoners visited the jail at night and 
lifted it off its foundation, holding it suspended while the inmates 
crawled from under. It was found necessary to build a larger 
and safer jail, which was done on Broad street, then known as 
Market street, near the railroad embankment, there being no 
bridge in those days. Incarceration was never for a long period, 
and fines were rarely paid. When the jail became too full to admit 
a fresh batch of offenders, those who had been in the longest were 
taken out and given a good strapping on the bare back, after 
which they were allowed to go free. The arts of the "black-leg," 



48 Atlanta And Its Builders 

while perhaps not as subtle as now, were plied with continuous 
success by confidence men who rendezvoused in Murrell's Row\ 

The post-office was kept in Collier's store, at the junction of 
Peachtree and Decatur streets, at the beginning of Murrell's Row. 
Floor space was at a premium after the town began to grow in 
earnest, and in order to make room for the post-office. Mr. Col- 
lier partitioned off one-half of a rickety long porch that ran the 
length of his building, with the delivery window in such a posi- 
tion that people who called for the mail were not required to enter 
the store. It would ordinarily be supposed that an enterprising 
merchant who kept the post-office would make the most of the 
opportunity to attract the public to his store; but the extent to 
which a post-office was frequented a half a century ago, must be 
taken into account. There was no free delivery and a large part 
of the population of country towns seemed to have little else to do 
than wait for their mail. Many were chronic loafers and gossips, 
and it is easy to understand how their habitual presence in a small 
store would be anything but an incentive to trade. Mr Collier 
solved the problem with his porch office. He did not allow him- 
self to be disturbed before the mail arrived, or wdiile sorting it, 
but when the latter task was done and the expectant crowd was 
assembled on the porch, he took the letters one by one. and called 
out the names of those to whom they were addressed, disposing 
of the bulk of the mail in this fashion. When a man's name was 
called he answered "Here," and pushed through the crowd to re- 
ceive his mail. 

In the rear of the post-office there was a bar-room, and Moses 
Formwalt had a tin shop next door. Mr. Formwalt, who was the 
first mayor of Atlanta, did a flourishing business in the manufac- 
ture of stills, and his manufactured tin articles had a large sale 
throughout north Georgia. Edwin Payne, father of Columbus 
Payne, ran a saw mill, he and a negro slave furnishing the motive 
power to the saw. This primitive factory made safes, tables, and 
other articles of household, office and store furniture. About this 
time Martin & Thurman started a gun factory. 

The first brick house to be built after the Atlanta Hotel was a 
block of brick stores erected on their centrally located property by 
I. O. and P. C. McDaniel. I. O. McDaniel was the father of 



Early Conditions And Incidents 49 

Governor McDaniel. Richard Peters was considered the wealth- 
iest citizen of Marthasville. His residence at the corner of For- 
syth and Peters street, a roomy, weatherboarded structure, was 
regarded as palatial at that time. Mr. Peters owned and con- 
ducted a steam mill on the present site of the Georgia Railroad 
shops. It was a very advanced enterprise for the time, and con- 
sumed a tremendous amount of pine fuel. Mr. Peters bought 
four hundred and five acres of close-in land on what is now the 
heart of the Peachtree section, for $1,200, for the express purpose 
of using the timber for fuel for his engine. He lived to see his 
land worth fancy front-foot prices, some of it bringing approxi- 
mately $75,000 an acre, as parcelled off. 

Wallace Putnam Reed relates a little incident of Marthasville 
progress which may be taken as characteristic of the place and 
time: "Mr. Crusselle had the contract for building the old State 
Road stone freight depot, which used to stand in the block in 
which the office of the Southern Express company now stands, 
very near the present passenger depot. When Mr. Crusselle fin- 
ished the depot, he was jubilant, and endeavored to demonstrate 
that fact to the town by a grand treat. Accordingly he bought a 
barrel of Georgia planter's corn whiskey, a half a barrel of brandy, 
and a box of Virginia tobacco, which he dealt out liberally to the 
citizens. He says that almost everyone got drunk, the fighting 
became general, and some of them attempted to turn over the 
town, but they did not succeed." 

Reminiscences of the settlers of the Marthasville period are 
by no means common. There are plenty of the early days of 
Atlanta proper, but Marthasville has almost faded from human 
memory. In view of this fact, it is appropriate here that some 
extracts be given from the '"talks" of the surviving pioneers who 
met in the National Hotel, in the spring of 1884, at a banquet 
given by D. N. Sloan, the first telegraph operator in Atlanta, to 
the surviving pioneers of nearly twenty years ago. 

On that occasion, Lewis H. Clarke said : "When I first 
came here it was a thicket — all woods. We had to haul goods in 
wagons from Madison. That was the spring of 1844. On the 
first day of April of that year, I was clerking for Collins & Loyd, 
who had opened a brand new store. It was the first store ever 

4-1 




Richard Peters 



Early Conditions And Incidents 51 

opened here. That night. Painter Smith, A. B. Forsyth, Hack & 
Bryant, and several other who made up the sum and substance of 
the town, serenaded us with tin pans and horns. In the fall we 
hauled our goods from Social Circle, and in the spring of 1845 we 
hauled them from Covington. When the first train arrived I was 
assistant postmaster with Mr. F. C. Orme, who, when he resigned, 
suggested Atlanta as a good name for the place." 

Thomas G. Crusselle said: "When I came here there was 
no town. About 1840 we built a log cabin near where the car 
shed stands. In 1843 we moved a story-and-a-half house from 
Boltonville, on two freight cars, and I rode on top of the cars 
across the Chattahoochee river. I thought that it was about the 
highest ride I had ever had. The following year Bob Clarke 
came here and we serenaded him with tin pans when he opened his 
store. We had a habit then, in election times, of gathering the 
voters in the biggest room in town and keeping them there all 
night. On election morning we marched them to the polls to 
vote. We were all Democrats then, until the Know-Nothings 
came along. Some of them went with them, but we all got back 
to the old party again." 

I. O. McDaniel said that he remembered seeing, in 1845, the 
shanties here that were built of the slabs turned out by Norcross's 
saw mill. In 1847 ne erected some buildings here. In 1848 he 
moved to the place. In the early city councils he was chairman of 
the committee on streets, and he recollected that, in 1849, when 
he asked for the appropriation for the streets, he fixed the entire 
amount needed at $600. The total expenses for the town that 
year were $1,400. 

Colonel L. P. Grant said : "I was one of the party which lo- 
cated the line of the Georgia Railroad to Atlanta in 1840. Work 
was suspended on account of the financial trouble, and I went to 
the Central Railroad. I returned, however, in 1843, and revised 
the location of the Georgia road. We commenced grading the 
road in 1843, an ^ from that time to the present I have been con- 
nected with Atlanta." 

David Mayer said he c?me to the place in 1847, with a stock 
of goods, intending to locate, but could not find any town. He 
saw only a few shanties, became discouraged, and shipped his 
goods awav. A vear later he saw his mistake and returned to stay. 



CHAPTER VI 

SOME FURTHER REMINISCENCES 

There is a story concerning some threatened land litigation 
of the Marthasville period that is worth relating here, however 
oft-repeated. Originally the land on which Atlanta was built was 
a part of the great body of wild land of the Georgia frontier 
which was disposed of to intending settlers upon very liberal con- 
ditions, the quarter sections being selected by lottery, as was done 
in the Cherokee reserve. It seems that in one of these early lot- 
teries a man named Beckman was the fortunate drawer of the land 
on which the center of the city of Atlanta was built. Beckman 
lived at the time on Cedar Creek, in Putnam county, and was a 
carpenter by trade. He boarded with a man named Mitchell, 
with whom he made a deal to the effect that Mitchell was to own 
the land drawn by Beckman's number, in case any was drawn. 
The drawing took place in due time, and the number held in Beck- 
man's name drew the land in question. Shortly thereafter Beck- 
man died. \\ "hen the State Road's engineer selected this land as 
the most desirable spot for the terminus, as directed by the rail- 
road bill, the governor of Georgia opened a correspondence with 
Mitchell, to whom the Beckman lot had been presumably assigned, 
proposing to purchase a few acres for the site of the necessary 
terminal buildings and facilities. Mitchell expressed his unwill- 
ingness to dispose of any considerable portion of his holding, but 
generously donated to the state, through the governor, the amount 
of land required for the purpose specified. Mitchell then went 
ahead and endeavored to make the most of the speculative possi- 
bilities of the situation. He subdivided his claim into town lots, 
and as has been stated heretofore, had public auctions in order to 
dispose of the realty. In the course of time he made a number of 
transfers, and what there was of the town was built on land he 
had sold. 

5-2 



Some Further Reminiscences 53 

Just when Marthasville was beginning to flourish, like 
lightning out of a clear sky came the intelligence that the land 
bought from Mitchell was in dispute, the entire tract having been 
publicly advertised for sale by Allen E. Johnson, administrator of 
the estate of the deceased Beckman. It appears, from the meagre 
information on the subject now at hand, that something like a 
conspiracy was formed by a few local speculators, led by Johnson, 
to profit by the setting aside of Mitchell's alleged title. They dis- 
covered, somehow, that Mitchell did not possess the original deed 
from Beckman, but held what purported to be a copy of the deed. 
Learning that Beckman had been dead some years, the Johnson 
party boldly charged that he had died before the land was drawn 
in the lottery, and, therefore, could not have given Mitchell a 
valid deed to the property. It is superfluous to say that excite- 
ment ran high among the denizens of the little town when this 
state of affairs became known. 

Mitchell stood squarely behind those who had purchased lots 
from him, averring that his title was perfect. He explained the 
absence of the original deed by saying it was burned by the fire 
that had destroyed the court house at Decatur, with all its legal 
papers and records. He claimed that when Beckman made the 
deed he had taken the precaution to have a copy made and prop- 
erly attested, forwarding the original to the proper county official 
at Decatur. In this contingency the exact date of Beckman's 
death was of vital importance, and the desired information could 
not be obtained by correspondence with the county authorities of 
Putnam county. The lot-holders who held under the Mitchell 
deed, therefore, held a meeting and selected I. O. McDaniel and 
A. W. Mitchell, of their number, as a committee to journey to 
Putnam county and secure every available fact bearing on Beck- 
man's death and drawing of the Terminus land. 

Messrs. McDaniel and Mitchell went to the Cedar Creek set- 
tlement in Putnam county and interviewed all of the former 
neighbors and acquaintances of Beckman. Nobody could state 
positively when he died. His grave was unmarked, and there 
was no mortuary record obtainable to throw light on the disputed 
matter. When about to return to Marthasville, baffled in their 
mission, the committeemen came across a man who taught school 



54 Atlanta And Its Builders 

in the vicinity of a house Beckman was working on as a carpenter. 
This school master remembered distinctly that a bridge was being 
built by the county across Cedar Creek at the same time Beckman 
was working on the new house near by. He said he passed 
Beckman at work, and crossed the new bridge, every day, for 
some time. The county records at Eatonton were carefully in- 
spected, and it was found that the bridge in question was built 
the year after the lottery drawing participated in by Beckman 
had been held. Armed with this gratifying information, Messrs. 
McDaniel and Mitchell returned to Marthasville and made their 
report to a meeting called to receive it. 

After hearing the report of their committee, the citizens in- 
terested determined to oppose, in every way possible, the plan of 
the Johnson party to sell the Mitchell tract. The Johnson party 
disclaimed any intention of interfering with the title of the par- 
ticular lots that had passed from the possession of Mitchell, claim- 
ing that it was their object to secure possession of only that por- 
tion of the Beckman holding that had not been sold by Mitchell's 
agent. Mitchell was at the time a resident of Zebulon, Pike 
county. These protestations did not satisfy the innocent purchas- 
ers, and they declared they would fight any procedure whose tend- 
ency was indubitably to throw a cloud upon their title. Indeed, 
there were some hot-heads who swore the sale, if it was attempted, 
would be broken up by force. The feeling between the two par- 
ties at interest was very bitter, and as the day advertised for the 
sale drew near, it was evident that trouble of a serious nature was 
brewing. The Johnson party was in the minority, numerically, 
and it was freely predicted that a riot would be precipitated at the 
sale as a pretext for giving those of them who were present a 
severe drubbing. 

The sale was held at the court house in Decatur, the sheriff 
who conducted it and the administrator of the Beckman estate 
who instigated it, being one and the same man. Practically 
every man in Marthasville went over to Decatur, and they went 
prepared for trouble. An immense crowd assembled in front of 
the court house. An attorney was present to represent Mitchell's 
estate, Mitchell being dead. The opponents of the sale, who were 
out in force, were well organized. They had selected Tom Crus- 



Some Further Reminiscences 55 

selle to raise every bid made on the property, and had instructed 
him to never weary in bidding. 

Sheriff Johnson took his place on the court house steps at 
the appointed hour, and after reading the notice of sale, proceeded 
to call for bids. A member of his party responded, and Crusselle 
promptly "raised" him. The bids followed quick and fast. 
Crusselle seemed to enjoy fulfilling his cue and bore himself like 
a man of millions. It was soon evident to the sale party that the 
antis were filibustering, and indignant protests were heard. Sheriff 
Johnson took the Crusselle bids in seeming good part and the price 
was run up quickly to extravagant figures. When the representa- 
tive of the Mitchell party called out $25,000, he turned to his fol- 
lowers and remarked with a twinkle in his eye that he reckoned it 
would take all of his yellow cotton to raise the amount. As the 
day wore away, it was evident that the farce would be inter- 
minable, and, besides, the crowd was dropping its playful humor 
and getting ugly. Many of the spectators had been drinking all 
day, and there was a display of weapons by the most boisterous of 
them. The close of the sale hours arrived, and still Crusselle bid 
on. The confused babel of angry voices was heard, interspersed 
with threatening shouts and oaths. The big crowd surged wildly 
as weapons were flourished, and a shot or blow woud have pre- 
cipitated a bloody riot. The Mitchell crowd were clearly there to 
have trouble. 

At this juncture Sheriff Johnson stopped calling for bids and 
drew his lawyer to one side in earnest consultation. He an- 
nounced that the sale would be called off, if the Mitchell lot- 
holders would make some little concession to the Beckman claim- 
ants. The lawyer of the Mitchell estate and some of the leaders 
of the citizens on that side conferred with the Johnson party till 
long after dark, and the result was a compromise satisfactory to 
all concerned. The heirs of the Mitchell estate gave the other 
side two acres, located in the choicest part of the disputed tract, 
and paid the cost of the litigation incurred by the latter. By 
agreement the land was later sold by Johnson, as administrator of 
Beckman, to the Mitchell heirs, as a mere act of legal formality, 
in order that the disputed claim be forever settled. They were 
given a deed in due and proper form by Johnson, and what 



56 Atlanta And Its Builders 

threatened bloodshed and a serious drawback to the growth of 
Marthasville was happily averted. 

The depot and old city park site which were deeded by Sam- 
uel Mitchell to the state were included in this litigation, of course, 
and some anxiety was felt by the state and railroad officials as to 
the outcome. The park consisted of the block bounded by Wall, 
Decatur, Loyd and Pryor streets, later the site of the Republic 
building, and known as the Republic Block. Some time after the 
sensational attempted sale of all the Mitchell property, the ques- 
tion arose whether, in the event of the abandonment of the state 
property for railroad purposes, the uses for which it was express- 
ly donated by Mitchell, it would not revert to the Mitchell heirs. 
The city was intent on buying the block occupied by the Park, and 
it was the general opinion that such action would vitiate the title. 
To prevent such a contingency, a compromise was made with the 
Mitchell heirs, by which they renounced all possible future claims. 

George G. Smith, for many years identified with Atlanta of 
the old days, gives some interesting reminiscences of his recollec- 
tions of the town a few months before it was incorporated as the 
city of Atlanta. Mr. Smith says : 

"My father, Dr. George G. Smith, removed from Oxford to 
Atlanta in June of 1847, and the family, of which I was one, fol- 
lowed him in October. On Saturday night, October 15th, 1847, 
we landed at the old Washington Hall, kept by James Loyd, locat- 
ed where is now the Markham House block. There were then 
two hotels in Atlanta. The Atlanta Hotel, a brick building, stood 
on the lot now occupied by the Kimball House. The Washington 
Hall was a long, rambling house of wood. The bar was in the 
front room, and in the dining room the long table was spread as 
in the olden time. The viands were put before you and you 
helped yourself. 

"On Sunday morning my good mother sent five of us to the 
first Sunday school. It was superintended by O. H. Hunston, a 
most excellent Presbyterian, then a book-keeper for Jonathan 
Norcross. It was a union school, and the only one, I believe, in 
the then village of Atlanta. The school room was a plain, un- 
ceiled, unpainted house, about 30 by 15 feet, on the lot near what 
now is the First Methodist church. There was at this time no 
church in the town. 



Some Further Reminiscences 57 

"During the summer my father had, in connection with 
Neddy Payne, Stephen Terry and James Collins, entered upon a 
protracted meeting, and Bishop Andrew, Dr. Longstreet, George 
\Y. Lane and Dr. Means had spent several days in Atlanta preach- 
ing in a warehouse belonging to Hey Wheat, on what is now 
Wheat street. This was the only place where service was held, 
until the cold weather drove us to the little school house room, 
and it was here that I listened to the first sermon that I heard in 
Atlanta, preached by the Rev. John Thurman, a Methodist Prot- 
estant. 

"On Monday, in company with Jim and Johnnie Loyd and 
Joel Kelsey, I set out to explore the new town. It seemed to me 
immense. It was set down in the woods, and houses of many 
shapes and sizes were among the trees. There was Slabtown, 
straggling down toward Decatur. There was a right busy center 
where Peachtree, Marietta and Decatur streets join, where Jona- 
than Norcross had his store, and where George W. Collier had his 
post-office, and nearby Moses Formwalt had his two shops and 
Clark Powell and Tom Kile their well-patronized grog-shops. 
Old Daniel Dougherty, a genial, warm-hearted Irishman, had a 
bakery where the railroad crosses Whitehall street. Where the 
viaduct is there were no houses, but beginning at Alabama 
street there was an almost unbroken line of wooden stores to 
Mitchell. A line of small shops and stores was on the north side 
of Decatur street down to Loyd. The work shops of the rail- 
roads were near what is now the union depot. The three railroad 
depots were close together, the Georgia where it now is, the 
Macon and Western west of the present station, and the Western 
and Atlantic depot on what is now the Brown block. There was 
but one brick house in the town — the Atlanta Hotel. 

"Marietta street had only one building of two stories. I 
went first to Odell's horse mill. A team of lean horses were 
moving in a ring and turning a circular saw, which was sawing up 
pines from the woods around. The celebrated Walton Spring, 
on what is now Spring street, was a beautiful spring of freestone 
water which Mr. A. W. Walton, who owned it, had provided with 
an enclosure of granite slabs, and the water came deliciously cool 
through a trough of granite. The Mineral Spring, or Chalybeate 



58 Atlanta And Its Builders 

spring was near the Southern passenger depot. This was a 
favorite resort of the townsfolk. There was also a fine spring 
on Alabama street, near where G. and T. Dodd have their store, 
and a very bold one where the Methodist Protestant church now 
is. A merry brook made its way through a deep dell across Ala- 
bama street, going west. 

"The homes in the town were nearly all of one story, but 
there were a few with two. There were still a great many log 
cabins scattered in all directions. As there was no pavement 
anywhere, and as the mud was something fearful, plank side- 
walks had been laid in front of the stores on Whitehall street. The 
First Methodist and First Baptist churches were in course of erec- 
tion, neither of them at that time even covered. The Methodists, 
after their house was covered, floored and the window sash put in, 
were forced to stop for want of funds. The Baptists went on 
with their work, and this was the first finished church in the city, 
but months before this was done the Methodists were occupying 
the shell they had erected. The pews were purchased from the 
saw mill, and the pulpit desk was my father's prescription table. 
My brother and I were the sextons. There was no hall in the 
town, and when the meeting was called to petition for a charter, it 
met in the old Wheat store, at that time the doctor's shop of Mar- 
tin & Smith. There was a drinking saloon near where the Lamar 
drug store is now, and the calaboose was on the nude land about 
opposite, near the Georgia railroad shops. 

"There was a great deal of wagon trade. I have seen 
Whitehall street so thronged with wagons, from Mitchell to Ala- 
bama, that one could with difficulty cross the street. The grain 
came down Peachtree street, and was largely bought by Jonathan 
Norcross, and the cotton came through Whitehall. The McDan- 
iels, A. W. Mitchell and E. J. Hulsey were erecting the first brick 
block in the city, at the corner of Whitehall and Hunter. 

"There were two school houses, one near the First Methodist 
and one near the Protestant Methodist church, for the two sec- 
tions of the town. There was the Enterprise and the Commer- 
cial, and now came the Miscellany, weekly papers. The only 
school then in the city was taught by Dr. W. H. Fonerder, a Bap- 
tist preacher. My mother opened the first select female school 



Sonic Further Reminiscences 59 

about the first of January, 1848. The city was incorporated in 
the latter part of 1847, an d the first election for mayor held in the 
early part of 1848." 

''The first two years after we came the cotton trade was very 
large, for the West Point railway had not been opened. There 
was much trade from eastern Alabama in food products. I have 
bought delicious venison hams from these Alabama wagons for 
twenty-five cents each. 

"There was no exclusively dry goods store, nor were any of 
the departments of trade, except heavy groceries, confined to a 
single article. The stores sold everything to eat or wear, except 
the one drug store and the one book store. Things to eat were 
very cheap. Eggs were 8 cents a dozen ; chickens, 2 cents apiece ; 
butter from 10 to 12 1-2 cents per pound. I have seen good 
sweet potatoes sold as low as 15 cents a bushel. No coal was 
burned, not even on the railways, and the streets were thronged 
with wood wagons. Wood was sold at 50 cents a load — about 
$1,50 a cord. The streets were in execrable condition all winter 
and summer. I have seen a three horse wagon, almost empty, 
stalled where the viaduct now is. 

"The whole mountain country poured its produce into the 
few stores near what was known as the Norcross corner. Cotton 
was bought by street buyers. Armed with their sharp gimlets 
they sampled the bags, and each one made his pass ; the buyer 
would give the seller a ticket, to be given to John F. Mims, the 
agent of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, and he 
would pay for the cotton, and the buyer, who was frequently 
merely buying for a commission of 50 cents a bale, would draw on 
the Charleston or Augusta factor and repay the agency. 

"It was a stirring time; everybody was busy; all the boys 
were at work. Henry McDaniel, afterward governor, and, I 
think, Bill Hulsey, afterward ordinary, used to carry brick in the 
brick yard, and I used to peddle books at the depot. I was the 
forerunner of all the army of news butchers. 

"There were then in Atlanta the Peachtree road, Whitehall 
street, Alabama street, Hunter, Mitchell, Loyd, Pryor, Marietta, 
Walton and Decatur streets. These were the only streets laid off 
at that time, and they were then filled with stumps, and the first 



60 Atlanta And Its Builders 

work of the new city administration was to have the stumps dug 
up. The brick yards were on all sides of the city. Few places had 
more gushing fountains than Atlanta, and a fine body of red clay 
was under the surface. Labor was abundant and cheap, and so 
was wood, and in every direction there were yards where a poor 
horse ground the clay with a wheel. Not a few of the substantial 
men of the city made their start carrying bricks at twenty-five 
cents a day. 

"There was much gambling in the town, and 'professionals' 
were in great force. The}- were not even secret in their games, 
and I have seen the money on the table as they handled the 'papes,' 
as they called the cards. After the city was fairly officered, they 
were a little more hidden in their proceedings. There was no 
small amount of lawlessness of all kinds. One night some burg- 
lars broke into the store of a Scotchman named Frazier and stole 
a wagon-load of goods and carted them away. The thieves were 
caught and the goods recovered. A band of thieves carried on a 
long and extensive robbery of the cars, and some prominent per- 
sons were involved. 

"The superior court was held at Decatur, and the only court 
held in Atlanta was the old justice's court of Major Buell. After 
him the magistrate was Squire Shaw, father of my old friend, Gus 
Shaw, the Broad street commission merchant. The first law case 
I ever saw tried was in a then vacant store-house, near the railroad 
crossing on Whitehall street. His honor was sitting in awful 
dignity, munching a ginger cake. 

"In 1847 Atlanta had one brick house in it, but in 1848 it 
had a score. The first private dwelling of brick, as I remember, 
was Dr. Austin's, built in 1848 on Marietta street, and near that 
time Judge Julius Hayden built the second. The first hall in 
Atlanta was over McDaniel's store. The first foundry was Dun- 
ning's. The first car shop and machine shop was Joseph Win- 
ship's. 

"The Masonic lodge was already established and my father 
joined the Masons in the summer of that year. The Odd Fel- 
lows, I think, came the next year. They had a hall near the 
Masonic lodge. The Sons of Temperance had a division the last 
of 1847, an d niv father was the first worthy patriarch. It flour- 
ished for several years. 



Some Further Reminiscences 61 

"The Catholics began their church, I think, in 1848. It was 
located on Loyd street, near where it stands now. They had a 
regular priest as soon as their house was finished. I do not re- 
member the first Catholic priest, but I remember very well the 
courtly and classic James F. O'Neill, who was in charge at a later 
day. Father Matthew came to Atlanta, and I heard him deliver 
a temperance speech. A good main- joined his society, but I am 
afraid their adherence was not long continued. 

''The Baptists, who had the first completed church in the city, 
had regular Sunday services from the middle of 1848. The 
Methodists, after using their puncheon seats for a few months, 
succeeded in getting the church supplied with plain pews. I- re- 
member my father raised the money — about $80 — by subscrip- 
tions of one dollar each. As old Jacob Johnson, the first painter, 
was a member, I think the church was painted then. When 
Willis Peck moved to Atlanta, he plastered the church. It had a 
gallery in it, but one Sunday the gallery fell, and it was not re- 
placed. 

"The preachers who gave the Methodists service every 
month were Anderson Ray and Eustace W. Speer, afterward Dr. 
Speer, the brilliant and beloved. He was scarcely of age then, 
though he was a married man. The next year Rev. John Yar- 
brough and Rev. James W. Hinton were pastors, and Dr. Hinton, 
still living in Macon, began his ministry here. We had a great 
many fine preachers to give occasional service in Atlanta. Dr. 
Stiles, Bishop Pierce, Dr. Pierce, Dr. Means, Bishop Elliott, gave 
us occasional sermons. Dr. J. S. W'ilson gave us a sermon every 
month, which, as his old hearers will well remember, were stately, 
orthodox, able and long. Rev. John W. Yarbrough and Dr. 
Alex Wynn, father of J. O. Wynn, of the Prudential Insurance 
company, were on the circuits which included Atlanta. A great 
revival began and over a hundred persons joined the Methodist 
church. 

"The city was growing vigorously. It was rather ungainly, 
but it was vigorous. It was almost as large as Griffin, and Macon 
was beginning to notice it. Atlanta, of course, wanted some- 
thing after she began to spread, and there were hints that 
the capital ought to be moved from Milledgeville ; but as Macon 



62 Atlanta And Its Builders 

clamored for that, for the time being the Atlanta people said the 
penitentiary would do. Apropos of which the Macon paper sug- 
gested that a wall around Atlanta and an appointed keeper would 
provide admirably for the demand. 

"There had been no grading in those days, and lofty hills 
were where are now level highways, and I have found it difficult, 
and in some places impossible, to identify in the closely built city 
the hills on which I gathered wild flowers and picked chinquepins 
fifty years ago. All along what was known as the McDonough 
road was a long row of one and two-roomed log cabins, owned by 
very poor people. From Garnett street westward was a very dis- 
reputable section known as Snake Nation, whose precincts I 
feared to enter when I was a boy. There was a small collection 
of houses on a high hill on Marietta street going toward Squire 
Payne's. The graveyard was about where the governor's man- 
sion is, and here I saw the first interment with the Masonic ritual 
I ever saw. Oakland cemetery was secured by the city a little 
after this, and there were no burials on Peachtree after that. 
There was no undertaker and no ready-made coffins. Mr. Clarke 
had a cabinet-maker's shop about opposite Trinity church, which 
met the demands, and an ordinary wagon was used for a hearse. 

"The Enterprise and The Luminary were the papers in 1847. 
The Enterprise was owned by Rough Rice, and The Luminary, 
which went out about the time we came, by, I think, a man named 
Clapp. But in the summer of that year Colonel Cornelius R. 
Hanleiter brought the Southern Miscellany from Madison and 
opened an office in Atlanta near Loyd street. The colonel was a 
very good editor, a fine practical printer, a staunch Episcopalian, 
and a Whig of the most decided character. In 1847 ne Po- 
lished the first carrier's address issued in Atlanta. It was a rhym- 
ing description of the city written by my father. It was a photo- 
graph of the city as it then was. This address was sold by the 
sole carrier, now Colonel William R. Hanleiter. 

"The war with Mexico was now over, and the officers were 
returning eastward. I was peddling maps and books at the cars, 
and was greatly interested in the returning heroes. I remember 
General Twiggs, General Shields, and General Quitman. One of 
the officers, supposing I was a newsboy, asked me for a New York 



Some Further Reminiscences 63 

paper. I ran over to the Miscellany office and bought all it had, 
and sold the first newspaper ever sold in Atlanta. Frank Rice 
came later than I did, and has made more money from his literary 
vendings than I ever did. The old colonel left the Miscellany for 
the telegraph office, and then was a mail agent when my father 
was postmaster. He had the first job office in Atlanta, published 
the first directory and wrote the first history. 

"Atlanta was so central that it became the assembling place 
for great Southern conventions. The first I recall was a railway 
convention in 1847. I remember an address made at it by a New 
York merchant named Whitney, who was urging the people to 
petition congress to build a railway to the Pacific. As we did not 
have California then, he proposed to strike for Oregon. He was 
sure the road could be built for $10,000 a mile. In the summer 
there was a famous temperance convention. The temperance 
society of Georgia, with Henry Lumpkin as president, was mak- 
ing a vigorous movement on the state, and Dabney P. Jones, 
known everywhere as Uncle Dabney, was the state lecturer. A 
convention was called and Judge R. M. Charlton, of Savannah, 
was to deliver the address. The best people in Georgia were 
present. My father had written me a speech, and I was on the 
programme. So, after the judge had spoken, they stood me on 
the book board and I made my debut before the great assemblage 
when I was ten years old. The Hon. George Hillyer did the 
same thing at the same place, some two years later. During the 
summer another great convention met. If I am not mistaken, it 
was on this occasion that Judge Cone so severely wounded Alex- 
ander H. Stevens with his pocket knife. Mr. Stephens was taken 
at once to the home of John F. Minis, on Alabama street, and was 
attended, I think, by Dr. Alexander. At the great Taylor and 
Fillmore rally he had recovered sufficiently to ride, and the ardent 
Whigs took the horses from the carriage and drew the vehicle in 
which he sat to the assembling place at Walton Springs. I re- 
member the pale-faced little man as he rode that day in triumph. 
They had a great torchlight procession. The torches were brands 
of fat lightwood. The transparencies were many and loud. A 
cannon had been brought up from Macon and planted on a tongue 
of land between the railroad, and, alas ! as it was fired, poor D. N. 



64 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Poore had his arm shot off by a premature discharge. Poore was 
an odd character, who belonged to an excellent family in New 
York. He was then the keeper of the station, and, I think, con- 
tinued such until he died. 

"James Collins was one of the early merchants. He was one 
of the first Methodists of Atlanta and one of the best men of his 
time. He gave the largest gift to build the First Methodist 
church. He married Miss Bolton and moved to a fine plantation 
at Bolton, then on the Cobb county side of the river. Leonard C. 
Simpson was one of the earliest lawyers. Willis Buell, the old 
squire, was a northern man and an old bachelor. The Barneses, 
Mr. Tay and Mr. Spann were railroad engineers. W. R. Vena- 
ble was clerk for James Collins, and afterward clerk of the superior 
court. Reuben Haynes was an easy-going, pious Methodist car- 
penter, and my Sunday school teacher. Haynes street was named 
for him. Mr. Silvey was a clerk in the store of one of the Jews 
with Calvin Hunnicutt. Ed Warner, long agent of the Georgia 
Railroad, was a clerk for A. B. Forsyth and an inmate of his 
home. William Rushton was the first master mechanic in Atlan- 
ta, a red-headed Englishman who had some pretty daughters who 
went to my mother's school. Old Dad Chapman was a character. 
He was a professional gambler and made no concealment of it. 
He was always neatly dressed, well behaved, a thorough gentle- 
man in his manners, but he lived on the profits of his skill at cards. 
Nat Mangum and his brother Robert were sons of old Uncle Billy, 
who came from South Carolina. Nat was a lawyer, and a great 
wag. He went into Fannin county and tried to develop a copper 
mine. My dear old friend, Logan Bleckley, who, save for his 
gray hair, looks about as young now as he did fifty years ago, was 
a clerk in the State road office. Old John Weaver was the patri- 
arch of the engine men. Dr. Hilburn, who was killed by his 
brother-in-law, Elijah Bird, was our first dentist. Greene B. 
Pilgrim was our first sexton, a worthy man in every way. Ike, 
who is still living, was a printer's apprentice. A hypnotist gave a 
show. He had engaged Ike to be mesmerized, and, sure enough, 
the vivacious Isaac went properly to sleep, after the passes were 
made, and then he followed implicitly the mesmerizer's directions. 
He did as he was bidden, sung, played the fiddle, swam, and at 



Some Further Reminiscences 65 

last the hypnotist gave him a short rod and bade him fish; and 
Ike fished diligently, and caught a fish, as he was directed. Pres- 
ently he caught a big one, as the mesmerizer said he would. 
'That's a cat,' said the sleeping youth. I decided that 'that's a 
cat' had given Ike away. 

"James McPherson, my worthy employer, was the first book- 
seller in Atlanta. He was a man of unusual intelligence and 
enterprise. He died suddenly in Savannah while clerk of the 
United States court. John F. Minis was the first agent of the 
Georgia railroad and the first bank agent. The Meads were 
among the first settlers and so were the Downs. Pete Emmell 
was Dougherty's baker, and was afterwards a famous saloon 
keeper. Monkey Baker, a German, had a little shop near West 
End and a garden, and kept guinea pigs and had a monkey. R. 
W. Williamson was the first agent of the Macon and Western 
railroad. L. P. Grant was an engineer of the Georgia road. He 
and John T. Grant were partners in railroad building. He was 
one of the staunchest men that ever lived. L. P. Grant, Richard 
Peters and John Collier would have been ornaments to any com- 
munity where integrity was at a premium. Jonas S. Smith, an 
impulsive, funny, fearless, warm-hearted merchant, was the suc- 
cessor of George W. Collier as postmaster. He gave way for my 
father, who succeeded him in 185 1." 



5-1 






CHAPTER VII 

THE CHRISTENING OF ATLANTA 

In the latter part of 1846, after three railroads had made 
their terminal points in Marthasville, and, as we have seen, the 
population of the village had trebled and the place become bustling 
with progress, another agitation for a change of name was begun 
by a number of the leading citizens, who evidently felt that no 
town could ever aspire to cityhood handicapped by such a rustic 
name as Marthasville. Among some of the most progressive 
spirits, the unfortunate name was treated as a joke, affording play 
for sarcasm. The people who were there now would never have 
called any cross-roads with hopes by such a name, and it was soon 
manifest that sentiment was a unit for a change. The need of a 
city charter was also felt, if for no other reason than to better 
control the troublesome riff-raff of Murrell's Row and "Snake 
Nation." Accordingly, the legislature of that winter was peti- 
tioned for a charter, under the new name of Atlanta. There is 
some controversy as to who has the honor of having first suggest- 
ed the name of the future metropolis. It is generally given to J. 
Edgar Thompson, then chief engineer of the Georgia Railroad, 
who, in a letter to Richard Peters, of Marthasville, is said to have 
urged the propriety of a change of name and suggested Atlanta 
as both euphonious and appropriate. Mr. Peters accepted the 
suggestion with enthusiasm and being a man of wealth and local 
influence was instrumental in having many of his fellow towns- 
men do the same. F. C. Orme, a former postmaster of the place, 
claimed that he coined the word Atlanta and was the first to offer 
it as a suitable name for the city in embryo. Be this as it may, 
the word Atlanta was on every tongue before the charter was ap- 
plied for, and as evidence that the name had been tacitly adopted, 
the Sunday school was called the Atlanta Union Sabbath school 

66 



The Christening of Atlanta 67 

before the town had the legal right to the name, and the same is 
true of the new Atlanta Hotel. The meaning of the name was 
obvious to everbody at that time. The purpose of the founding 
of Terminus, nearly ten years before, was to afford a commercial 
highway, or rather, a series of highways, between the great Miss- 
issippi Valley and the Atlantic seaboard. The name Atlanta, in 
the estimation of its early residents, stood for the accomplishment 
of that momentous project. 

There was, however, a very decided hostility by some of the 
citizens to assuming the increased expenses and responsibilities 
through municipal incorporation, and when the more progressive 
faction sent a committee over to Milledgeville to present the peti- 
tion to the legislature and have a bill in compliance thereto intro- 
duced, the opposition was on hand with a strong lobby to smother 
the measure. The incorporation bill, carrying with it the change 
of name, went over till the next session. In the meantime the 
citizens of Marthasville repudiated that name and wrote and 
spoke of their town as Atlanta. The local newspapers came out 
under Atlanta date lines, and the railroad companies adopted the 
new name on their time tables and maps. 

On December 29, 1847, tne general assembly passed an act 
framed by Judge Collier, incorporating the "City of Atlanta," a 
portion of the act reading as follows : 

"An act to amend an act entitled an act to incorporate the 
town of Marthasville, in the county of DeKalb, passed December 
23, 1843, and also to enlarge the boundaries of said town, and to 
incorporate the same under the name of Atlanta, etc." 

"Section 1. Be it enacted, etc., that from and after the pas- 
sage of this act, the town of Marthasville shall be known as and 
called the city of Atlanta, and the authority and jurisdiction of 
the said city shall extend one mile from the State depot in every 
direction. 

"Section 2. Be it enacted that within sixty days after the 
passage of this act, by giving two days' notice, and on the third 
Monday in every January thereafter, all free white persons, citi- 
zens residing within the incorporate limits of said city, who shall 
be entitled to vote for members of the legislature of said state, 
shall be entitled to vote for a mayor and six members of the city 



68 Atlanta And Its Builders 

council, in lieu and stead of the commissioners, as is provided in 
the act to which this is amendatory; and that the person or per- 
sons legally entitled to vote at said election shall be eligible for 
mayor or members of the city council, at which election one justice 
of the inferior court, or of the peace, and two freeholders, neither 
of whom being a candidate, shall preside, and the person receiv- 
ing the highest number of votes shall be declared elected ; that the 
managers of said election shall give certificates to that effect, 
which shall be the highest evidence of their election and authority 
to act, and be recorded by the clerk of the city council in a book to 
be kept for that purpose, which record shall be held and esteemed 
as the highest evidence of their election." 

In section 6 the mayor and city council are required to elect 
a city marshal, and if they deemed it necessary, a deputy marshal 
or marshals, a clerk of the council, and a treasurer. 

Under section 9 it is provided that the mayor and four mem- 
bers of the council should form a quorum to transact all business, 
and that the mayor and each member of the council should be, to 
all intents and purposes, a justice of the peace, so far as to enable 
them, or any of them, to issue warrants for offenses committed 
within the corporate limits of the city, which warrants were re- 
quired to be executed by the city marshal, or a deputy marshal, 
and to commit to the jail of the county of DeKalb, or to admit to 
bail, offenders, for appearance before the next term of the superior 
court thereafter, for the county of DeKalb, etc. 

In accordance with the provisions of the organic act. a city 
election was held in the city of Atlanta for the first time on the 
2Qth of the following January. Below is reproduced the entry of 
the city clerk on the official records, concerning the result of the 
election : 
"Georgia, DeKalb County : 

"We, Edwin G. Collier, a justice of the peace, and Patterson 
M. Hodge and Francis M. Gray, who are freeholders, and who 
were managers at the election for mayor and members of the 
council of the city of Atlanta, and neither of whom being candi- 
dates, do certify that said election was held on Saturday, the 29th 
day of January, 1848, and that Moses W. Formwalt received the 
highest number of votes for mayor, and was declared duly elected. 



The Christening of Atlanta 69 

"Given under our hands and seals this 31st day of January, 
1848. 

"E. G. Collier, J. P. (Seal). 
"P. M. Hodge, (Seal). 

"F. M. Gray, (Seal)." 

The entry touching the election of the first city council is as 
follows : 
"Georgia, DeKalb County : 

"We, Edwin G. Collier, justice of the peace, Patterson M. 
Hodge and Francis M. Gray, who are freeholders for and who 
were managers of the election for members of the council of the 
city of Atlanta, and neither of us being candidates, do certify that 
said election was held in the city of Atlanta, on Saturday, the 29th 
of January, 1848, and that Jonas S. Smith, Benjamin F. Bomar, 
Robert W. Bullard, James A. Collins, Anderson W. Walton and 
Leonard C. Simpson received the highest number of votes for 
members of the council, and were declared duly elected. 

"In testimony whereof we have set our hands and seals this 
31st dav of January, 1848. 

"E. G. Collier, J. P. (Seal). 
"P. M. Hodge, (Seal). 

"F. M. Gray, (Seal)." 

The new mayor and councilmen took the oath of office on 
February 2, 1848, and the municipal government was formally 
inaugurated by the holding of a council meeting the same day. 
L. C. Simpson and Benjamin F. Bomar were appointed a com- 
mittee to draft rules of order for the government of the council. 
The question of official salaries was next taken up. The city 
marshal was allowed $200 per annum, and was placed under a 
$2,000 bond; the deputy marshal $150, with a bond of $1,500. 
The clerk was allowed no fixed salary, his compensation to be de- 
rived from the fees and costs, with a bond of $1,000. The treas- 
urer was allowed two per cent, for receiving and two per cent, for 
paying out moneys, and he was required to give bond in the sum 
of $4,000. German M. Lester was chosen as city marshal ; 
Thomas I. Shivers, deputy marshal ; L. C. Simpson, clerk, and 
Oswald Houston, treasurer. A committee on ordinances was 



70 Atlanta And Its Builders 

elected, consisting of Conncilmen Simpson, Walton and Collins. 
At a meeting of the council held a few days thereafter, Mr. Simp- 
son declined to accept the office of clerk, and the place was given 
to Robert M. Clarke. H. M. Boyd was elected tax receiver and 
collector in a close vote that the mayor was required to partici- 
pate in. 

A few chronological extracts from the first year of the city 
records will not be amiss in this connection. On February 13, 
1848, four denizens of the infant city, presumably habitues of the 
rowdy quarter, were taken before the mayor and fined for disor- 
derly conduct. One of the offenders was fined eight dollars, two 
of them five dollars, and the fourth two dollars, with the costs 
added. On the 15th a more serious case was brought before the 
municipal court. One James Flint stood charged with an assault 
with intent to kill a Mr. Porter, made the previous evening. The 
trial attracted a good deal of public interest and terminated in the 
very lenient decision of a fine of fifteen dollars. 

On the 15th, also. Alderman Simpson was authorized to 
enter into a contract with Stephen Terry, the pioneer real estate 
agent, to survey and mark the corporate limits of the city of 
Atlanta. On the 19th of the same month the grist of "disorder- 
lies" in the judicial hopper was so large as to suggest either an 
incipient riot or the inauguration of a reform raid. The city was 
a good many dollars the richer by the fines then imposed, and the 
calaboose had standing room only. The same day council ap- 
pointed a committee to select a police patrol to aid the marshal and 
his deputy in preserving the public order. 

During the month of March the vigorous prosecution of 
disorderly conduct cases against the vicious element continued, 
but the morals of the city were not appreciably improved thereby. 
Offenders when lined, or upon their release from the calaboose, 
went straightway and resumed their nefarious occupations — or 
lack of occupation. On the 4th of that month a permit was 
granted G. C. Rogers by the council to build a slaughter house 
within the limits of the city, provided he kept the same in a sani- 
tary condition and it annoyed none of the citizens in the vicinity. 
There were also a good many cases brought for draying without 
license and selling" intoxicants without license. 



The Christening of Atlanta Ji 

On the 5th of June council adopted a resolution exempting 
its members from municipal taxation, upon condition that the 
councilman thus exempted relinquish the amount due him under 
the charter for his official services. 

On the 3d of July the mayor was authorized to appoint a 
board of health, to consist of nine citizens, one of whom should 
be a legally practicing physician, whose duty it should be to ex- 
amine into all causes of ill-health in the city, and to report the 
same to the marshals, who were required to take immediate ac- 
tion, as provided by ordinance, to remove or remedy the cause. 
Later the mayor appointed the following gentlemen as members 
of the health board : N. L. Angier, James Boring, Solomon 
Goodall, J. F. Minis, R. Cain, William Herring, James Loyd, Dr. 
Joshua Gilbert, and Dr. S. S. Smith. 

On the 20th of July, Joseph B. Clapp was elected clerk of 
the council, vice Robert M. Clarke, resigned. At the same meet- 
ing of council a special election was called for July 31st, 1848, to 
select a member of the council to take the place of R. W. Bullard, 
who had removed from the city. Out of the one hundred and 
seventy-four votes cast at this election, Henry C. Holcombe re- 
ceived eighty-seven ; Ambrose B. Forsyth, forty-seven ; and J. A. 
Hayden, forty. The superintendents of this election, W. Buell, 
J. S. Smith and James A. Collins, declared Mr. Holcombe elected, 
and he was duly sworn in at the next aldermanic meeting. 

On the 5th of September council allowed A. L. Rhodes five 
dollars for lumber furnished, and for hanging the bell over the 
council chamber. On the 16th of the following month Council- 
men Holcombe and Simpson were appointed a committee to con- 
sider the matter of opening Pryor street, and on the 23d a petition 
was presented by J. A. Hayden and John Collier asking that a 
street be opened from the bridge across the Macon & Western 
railroad, in a southwestern direction, and intersecting with the 
Whitehall road within the corporate limits of Atlanta. 

On the 4th of November, J. B. Clapp was dismissed from 
office as clerk of the council, John L. Harris being elected to fill 
his place. On the 6th council granted a petition of certain citi- 
zens for a walk from the new house built by L. H. Davies to the 
post-office. E. T. Hunnicutt was appointed deputy marshal, on 
the 1 2th of December, vice Thomas I. Shivers, dismissed. 




— 





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The Christening of Atlanta 73 

By this time Atlanta was attracting, if not national, South- 
ern, attention. The daily papers of the larger cities had much to 
say about the progress and possibilities of the lively little city, and 
much stress was laid on the significance to the town of other pro- 
jected railroads. In the Southwestern Convention held in Mem- 
phis for the purpose of promoting industrial development and 
encouraging immigration, John C.Calhoun, then recognized as the 
greatest Southern statesman, made a strong speech outlining the 
progressive steps necessary to make the Southwest what it was 
destined to be — another valley of the Nile. The great South 
Carolinian made in this speech the following' allusion to Atlanta: 

"What, then, is needed to complete a cheap, speedy and safe 
intercourse between the valley of the Mississippi and the Southern 
Atlantic coast is a good system of railroads. For this purpose the 
nature of the intervening country affords extraordinary advan- 
tages. Such is its formation from the course of the Tennessee, 
Cumberland and Alabama rivers, and the termination of the 
various chains of mountains, that all the railroads which have 
been projected or commenced, although each has looked only to its 
local interest, must necessarily unite at a point in DeKalb county, 
in the state of Georgia, called Atlanta, not far from the village of 
Decatur, so as to constitute one entire system of roads, having a 
mutual interest each in the other, instead of isolated rival roads." 

Senator Calhoun had passed through Atlanta and carefully 
examined the situation on the ground. He strongly urged upon 
a future governor of Georgia, Joseph E. Brown, then a young 
man who had stopped in Washington for a few days while enroute 
home from college, the desirability of casting his fortunes in 
Atlanta. The far-seeing statesman is said to have given other 
Georgia friends the same advice. 

By the end of 1848, Atlanta had between 500 and 600 inhab- 
itants, a very small proportion of whom were women and chil- 
dren. It was a new town, full of newcomers, and the wives and 
babies were left behind at the old home until the plastic "rudi- 
ments of empire" had assumed something like form. The estab- 
lishment of municipal law had much to do with the establishment 
of homes in the place. 

Capital, heretofore chary of Atlanta, now followed eagerly 
enough in the footsteps of immigration. Real estates values 



74 Atlanta And Its Builders 

stiffened and transfers were lively, comparatively speaking. Isaac 
Scott came up from Macon and founded a banking house in 
Atlanta in the winter of 1848. U. L. Wright was made agent of 
the institution, and that well-known pioneer citizen, Washington 
J. Houston, cashier. The first depositor was James B. Loften, a 
slave-trader, who deposited a pair of old-fashioned saddlebags 
with both ends full of silver dollars. Several new real estate 
offices were opened, generally in conjunction with the practice of 
law, and there were a number of private money lenders who made 
big usury out of the railroad employes and the free-and-easy- 
class, as is common in Atlanta at this day. The Odd Fellows 
established their pioneer lodge in this year, and two or three pri- 
vate schools were established, in a small way. "Angier's Acad- 
emy," founded the year before, was in a flourishing condition. 
This year occurred the exciting presidential campaign in 
which the hero of the Mexican war, Zachary Taylor, was the 
Democratic nominee. It was an era of intense bitterness, politi- 
cally, and the Know-Nothing party had gained quite a following 
in Georgia. In passing it is noteworthy that Georgia furnished 
some of the most gallant soldiers of the Mexican war, and a num- 
ber enlisted from DeKalb county. While the short-lived strug- 
gle was in progress, the news and letters from the field afforded 
a topic of absorbing interest for the conversations of the local 
statesmen and philosophers of Atlanta, and Taylor had a number 
of very zealous partisans in the town. Indeed, their zeal was so 
great, fortified by white corn liquor, that nearly every day during 
the fall witnessed a fisticuff between citizens of contrary political 
beliefs. A Taylor and Fillmore mass meeting was held at Wal- 
ton Spring, which drew a tremendous crowd from fifty miles 
around. There w T as a grand barbecue, glee club singing, and one 
of the distinguished orators of the occasion was Alexander H. 
Stephens. The enthusiasm of the assembled Democrats was so 
great that hundreds of Stephens's admirers rushed to the Atlanta 
Hotel, where he was stopping, and demanded a speech before he 
was driven to the spring. After he had appeared on the gallery 
and was about to step into the waiting carriage, hundreds of 
hands were stretched toward him to shake, and a score of others 
unhitched the horses from the vehicle, the noisy partisans shouting 



The Christening of Atlanta 75 

that they would draw the little statesman themselves. And so 
they did, a long line of them pulling and escorting the carriage. 
The first American flag ever given to the breeze in Atlanta was 
unfurled over the Miscellany printing office by its editor, Colonel 
Hanleiter, on this occasion. 

Atlanta had begun to build on the south side of the railroad, 
though Alabama street was suburban at the time the city govern- 
ment was organized. The topography of the central portion of 
the town has changed greatly since that time. There were 
ravines, knolls, springs, and even brooks familiar to the residents 
of the latter forties, that have long since been obliterated by the 
vandal hand of progress. For instance, there used to be a bold 
spring branch on the east side of Whitehall street, near the rail- 
road crossing. This branch headed on or near the lot later occu- 
pied by the old Central block, or James building, and was a very 
prominent and troublesome landmark of the early days. For 
years it sadly depreciated good business property in the vicinity, 
as the expense of filling it up permanently was considered too 
great to be undertaken with profit, and it undermined the founda- 
tions that were first laid along the north side of Alabama street. 
About one hundred yards from the Western & Atlantic depot was 
a mineral spring much resorted to and famous before the war. 
The beaux and belles of early Atlanta invariably included it in 
their promenades and tender loiterings, and those who felt "poor- 
ly" obtained their sole supply of drinking water from its translu- 
cent depths. There were a dozen other springs that have long 
since dried or been filled up. Of the popular medicinal waters we 
have just spoken of, one of the old-time weeklies had this to say : 

"Our Mineral Spring. — This delightful fountain of health 
is even now a place of great resort for our citizens, male and 
female, notwithstanding its rough and uninviting appearance ; but 
when it is fitted up, as it will be soon, with a beautiful marble 
basin to receive the water, and several nice summer houses to 
receive the visitors, and various other attractive improvements 
around it, it will doubtless then be thronged all the while with a 
multitude of ladies and gentlemen, both from home and abroad. 
We went down a few evenings since and were perfectly astonished 
at finding so many people there." 



CHAPTER VIII 

WELL-KNOWN PIONEER CITIZENS 

We are satisfied that the reader will be loath to reach the end 
of Mr. Smith's interesting reminiscences. It would be difficult, 
at this late day, to find one who was a resident of Atlanta at so 
early a date who was a closer observer of men and events, and 
who has a more entertaining manner of relating his observations 
and impressions. Mr. Smith is one of the best-known and be- 
loved clergymen of the old-school in Georgia, his home being in 
Macon. The following reminiscences of his, which we are glad 
to be able to continue, relate principally to the personal side of 
Atlanta in 1847-8: 

"The two hotel keepers were Dr. Thompson and James Loyd. 
Dr. Thompson was a bustling, brusque, loud talking, energetic 
man, who kept everything moving about him. His hotel was well 
located and well patronized. There was a bar in the reception 
room, and it was well patronized also. He was quite a favorite 
with leading public men, and they always stopped with him. His 
wife was a famous housekeeper, whose well-kept flower garden 
and whose luxuriant Maderia vines added to the attractiveness of 
his hostelry. 

"James Loyd was a man of very opposite character. He was 
one of the greatest, kindest and easiest men I ever knew. His 
hotel was a free and easy place, and was always well furnished 
with guests. There was a great deal of transient patronage, and 
the hotels were sources of large revenues. 

"Among the merchants, Jonathan Norcross, a sharp, angu- 
lar, shrewd, intelligent Yankee, was the leader. He. came out to 
Georgia to set up a horse mill in Atlanta, and bought the property 
which is now owned by his son on the corner of Peachtree and 
Marietta streets. When he came to Atlanta, the Irish famine was 

76 




Jonathan Norcross 



One of Atlanta's earliest pioneers who came 
to the city in 1844 when the population num- 
bered less than 3,000 and served as mayor 
before the war and lived to the advanced 
age of ninety-one and saw the population 
reach 125,000. 



78 Atlanta And Its Builders 

at its height and great quantities of Indian corn were bought for 
shipment to Ireland. He was a large dealer, and thousands of 
wagon loads were dumped into his warehouse, where the corn 
was shelled and sacked and shipped. He had a genuine country 
store and kept everything a plain farmer needed and bought 
everything he had to sell. He was a decided temperance man, 
and although the larger number of merchants sold whiskey, old 
Jonathan never touched it. He was a kind-hearted, good- 
natured, eccentric man. He ran for mayor in the first race and 
was defeated, and his election was not secured until about 1850. 
The mayor was Moses W. Formwalt, a tin manufacturer, who 
was elected in 1848. During Formwalt's reign there was little 
restraint put on anyone. I was passing up Murrell's Row, now 
Decatur street, where John Silvey's store now is, and I saw John 
White leap out of the front porch on Coleman Brown and bring 
him to the ground, where he called lustily for peace. In a vacant 
house nearby I saw the only cock fight with gaffs I ever saw, and 
saw men freely betting on the gamest chicken. There was only 
one marshal and no policemen. On the day of the election I 
heard there were sixty fights. In the second election old Jona- 
than won the prize. He began at once to put on the pressure, and 
the gamblers began at once to assert themselves against the 
mayor. One of them was arrested and ordered to the calaboose, 
a little log pen on the made land near the passenger station. His 
comrades secured a lever and raised the log sufficiently to give 
their comrade exit. There was an old cannon, and they dragged 
it to Decatur street and banged away again and again. They 
were arrested, and when old Jonathan ordered them to the cala- 
boose, one of them whipped out his bowie knife and struck at the 
mayor across the table, fortunately missing him. A vigilance 
committee was organized, with a young Virginian, a teacher, 
Wilson, at its head. The insurgents were now promptly ousted. 
A court was held on Sunday, so important was the exigency, and 
they were sentenced to the calaboose. They stayed in jail until 
they were legally released. Few worthier men have lived in 
Atlanta than that typical 'down-easter,' Jonathan Norcross. 

"W. L. Wright was the manager of the large grocery con- 
cern of Scott, Carhart & Co., and one of the largest cotton buyers 



Well-Knozvn Pioneer Citizens 79 

on Whitehall street. Terrence Doonan kept a large grocery, and 
James T. Doane & Co. a large dry goods and grocery store on that 
street. There was one drng store kept by Dr. Angier, afterward 
treasurer of the state. Then came a great many small establish- 
ments. Steinberger was the leading Jewish merchant, and Mayer 
& Haas came afterward with a large stock of cheap clothing. 
The MacDaniels, Mitchell & Hulsey had a large store filled with 
general merchandise. They did not sell whiskey, but sold all 
kinds of heavy groceries, dry goods, hardware, etc. Ira O. Mc- 
Daniel and Philip, his brother, were members of this firm. They 
were already in Atlanta when we came. Ira O. McDaniel was a 
man of fine education, of high character, and of great energy. 
He was on Whitehall street what Jonathan Norcross was on 
Peachtree. He, too, was once mayor of the city. He was the 
father of Governor H. D. McDaniel. Cousin John Thrasher, 
the genial boniface of after days, was a merchant on Whitehall 
then, with a Mr. Scaife as partner. The book store was in a little 
house next to Dougherty's bakery. It was kept by James Mc- 
Phenan, but I do not think it was opened until 1848. There were 
a great many small, cheap shops, and many grog shops. 

"The leading doctor in Atlanta — certainly the most popular 
— was the genial, warm-hearted Josh Gilbert. He rode on horse- 
back and carried a whistle with him, with which he made his 
presence known as he galloped his steed through the streets. He 
kept no books, collected no accounts, and, I think, paid no debts. 
He was "a natural-born doctor," the people said, and was a uni- 
versal favorite. Dr. Martin, my father's partner, was a reserved, 
cynical and well-read medical man, who looked with amazement 
on Dr. Josh and his ways. My father was the other member of 
the faculty. I do not think the practice of any of the fraternity 
was extensive, nor were the incomes of the doctors princely. 

"The lawyers were few. John Collier was a young fellow 
then. He was the partner of William Murphey. Sober, sensi- 
ble, reliable, he was then as he continued to be till his death, in 
every respect a valuable man. His brother George was the post- 
master, who was very steady at his work and very courteous, 
though brusque in his manner. The post-office was on the corner 
of Peachtree and Decatur streets. Richard Peters was then run- 



8o Atlanta And Its Builders 

ning" a line of stages from Atlanta to Montgomery. He was then, 
as he always was, a gentleman of the finest type, quiet, dignified, 
reserved, considerate and polite. He was a mover in everything 
that looked like progress. George W. Adair was a popular conduc- 
tor on the Georgia Railroad. These were some of the leading men 
of the town. On the outskirts lived Uncle Neddy Payne, whose 
little farm is now in the heart of Atlanta. He was a sturdy, sen- 
sible, worthy man, as was Samuel Walker, who lived in what is 
now North Atlanta. These two men were famous Methodists, so 
J knew them well. Among the people we found in Atlanta was 
Reuben Cone, who lived in a great comfortable cottage on Mari- 
etta street. He was. I think, a New Yorker. He had a lot of 
land in the heart of Atlanta. 

"I remember that a fourth of an acre on Marietta street was 
then worth $250. Reuben Cone's only child married Julius A. 
Hayden, who resided with his father-in-law. When we came to 
Atlanta, Colonel Hayden's gentle wife was one of the few who 
had a piano and a musical education. Without charge, as I re- 
member with gratitude, she gave my little sister musical training. 
There was a motley people in the city then. Much the larger 
class were rather poor specimens, but there were not a few most 
excellent people, and some very few people of cultivation. Among 
the most striking memories I have is of old Painter Smith. I do 
not claim kinship with him, but there is no question about his 
being a distinguished personage. He was always drunk — not 
drunk enough to be still, but drunk enough to be noisy. 

" 'You are a fool and I am a fool, but I am a fool to do as I 
do. and you are a fool for the want of sense,' he would yell out, 
or — 

' T ain't afeard of nothiir sence I killed them two men." 

"Every now and then he would select some man as an object 
of abuse, and presuming on Stephen Terry's Methodism he began 
on him ; but old Stephen forgot his peace principles and wore out 
a hickory cudgel on old Painter's back. 

"Little Toney was a mite of a Frenchman who kept the first 
restaurant in Atlanta — a poor affair under Wheat's store, where 
he served oysters, and ham and eggs, and where, when the gamb- 
lers wished, they could have a quiet little game of seven-up. 



Well-Known Pioneer Citizens 81 

"Of all the queer characters who were in Atlanta when we 
came to it, 1 think Dr. Fruerden was the queerest. He was a 
duck-legged, bristling Baptist parson. He came of a good Mary- 
land family and was first a printer, then a Methodist preacher, 
then a botanic physician, then a Baptist preacher, then an editor, 
then a school teacher. He married an elegant lady and lived in a 
log cabin. He was a great temperance man in principle, but now 
and then he was a little off in his practice of total abstinence. 
He was always a leader in everything, and while he had his dere- 
lictions, was, in the main, all right. 

"Stephen Terry, who gave old Painter the caning, was a stern, 
substantial old citizen who was a candidate for mayor and 'per- 
sona lion grata' to old Painter, who undertook the office of 'cuss- 
ing him out.' This was a favorite practice of some of the early 
citizens. The offended man. with his coat off and his sleeves 
rolled up, would go to the shop or store of the one obnoxious. 
He would then began a tirade of abuse and pour forth a volley of 
the fiercest and vilest and most blasphemous oaths. It was really 
astonishing that any genius could find as many ways of using the 
divine name in vain as these experts could. He was only waiting 
to be "clared" of the law, and he would wipe the earth with his 
foe. 

"I once happened at the depot when a little short man vend- 
ing watermelons was 'cussing out' a rival in trade and daring him 
to fight him. The angular, long-legged watermelon dealer was 
averse to a fight, but some Athens college boys urged him to stand 
to his guns. At last the chips were put upon each shoulder, and 
the brave little fellow knocked off his rival's chip. The other 
came to time, there was one blow, and then a foot race, for the 
little man ran at full speed around the car-shed, his long-legged 
antagonist in vain pursuit. 

"Calvin Hunnicutt was the handsome, genial clerk of, I 
think, Mayer & Haas, and Jep Rucker, afterwards a leading 
banker, was clerk for Sternberger. Wash. Houton clerked for 
Mel. Wright. Dick Venable, father of the Venable brothers, for 
James Loyd. 

"I wonder how many can remember Bill Durham and his 
basket of ginger cakes. His mother lived in a log house where 

6-1 



82 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Broad street joins Mitchell, and made her living with her ginger 
bread. There -was then no market, and fresh meat was hawked 
about town in a cart. About 1848 Gresham C. Rogers opened 
the first meat stall. 

"Alexander Lnckie, who gave the name to Luckie street, 
lived on the Peachtree road, on the outskirts of the town. Wal- 
ton street was named in honor of A. W. Walton, one of the first 
merchants ; Loyd street after James Loyd ; Peters street after 
Richard Peters ; Mitchell street after old Samuel Mitchell ; Doane 
street after John T. Doane ; McDaniel street after Ira O. McDan- 
iel ; Spring after Walton's spring. 

"We had preaching every Sunday. Now a Catholic priest 
had mass, now a Methodist circuit rider, and now a hard-shell 
Baptist preached. I remember one who called himself a corn 
stalk preacher, and whose tears and humility touched hearts deep- 
ly. Dr. Wilson had a regular appointment after 1849, once a 
month in the Methodist church until the First Presbyterian was 
built. The Baptists had services regularly from 1848, I think. 
Rev. D. G. Daniel was their first pastor. The Episcopalians 
came after this. The beautiful lot where St. Philip's cathedral 
stands was owned by Richard Peters. Mr. Mitchell, the owner 
of the land in the heart of the city, gave a lot to each of the four 
churches. Mr. Peters told me he took the lot Mr. Mitchell gave 
to the church and gave in exchange the beautiful square on which 
the cathedral now stands. 

"We had one Sunday school in Atlanta then. It was held in 
the old school house near the First Methodist church. Mr. O. S. 
Houston was the superintendent. Mrs. Richard Peters, then 
Miss Mary Thompson, was one of the teachers, and my mother 
had the Bible class of young ladies. As soon as the Methodist 
and Baptist churches had pews in them, denominational schools 
were established. Our school was superintended by Lewis Law- 
she, one of the best men I ever knew. 

"Colonel C. R. Hanleiter, one of the pioneer journalists of 
Atlanta, was one of the interesting characters of this early period. 
As editor, publisher, councilman and citizen, he was always at the 
forefront. As long as he lived. Colonel Hanleiter was an enthu- 
siastic friend of Atlanta, chivalrous and generous to a fault. In 



Well-Known Pioneer Citizens 83 

the early fifties, while a member of the city council, he introduced 
and had passed by that body the first ordinances prescribing the 
width of the streets and grades of crosswalks, the space to be 
occupied by signs, awnings, etc. He drafted the first comprehen- 
sive code of ordinances ever adopted for Atlanta. The first build- 
ing and loan association ever organized in Atlanta was organized 
through his instrumentality. The first tent of Rechabites ever 
organized in Georgia was largely the work of Colonel Hanleiter, 
Rev. Lewis Lawshe and Major J. H. Linn. The Knights of 
Jericho were first introduced in Atlanta by him, assisted by A. B. 
and W. G. Forsyth, C. H. C. Willingham, and Dr. Bateman. The 
first large American flag ever floated to the breeze was displayed 
( >ver his printing office. He was an active spirit in every move 
calculated to advance the material interests of the community. 

"Major George Shaw, the second justice-of-the-peace ever in 
Atlanta, arrived in 1847. He was a Virginian, and a veteran of 
the war of 18 12. He first settled in Jackson county, Ga., and was 
admitted to the bar in Jefferson. In 1828 he was a member of 
the Georgia legislature. Squire Shaw was a familiar figure on 
the streets of the new town, and he enjoyed in a remarkable de- 
gree the respect of his fellow-citizens. He was a model gentle- 
man of the old school, genial and kindly. He was blessed with 
a good helpmeet, nee Miss Louisa Troutt, of Jefferson, Ga., and to 
them were born three sons — Augustus Shaw, the well-known 
Atlantan, and George and Samuel H., deceased. 

"Dr. Chapman Powell came to Atlanta with the beginning of 
the fifties. He had recognized the inevitable supremacy of Atlan- 
ta and moved over from Decatur. In 1836 he was a member of 
the general assembly from DeKalb county and an active worker 
in behalf of the charter for the State road, then in its incipiency. 
Loving his profession better than politics, he refused a second 
nomination. His home near Decatur was General Sherman's 
headquarters while the destruction of Atlanta by the federals was 
going on in 1864. One of the houses in which Dr. Powell resided 
was remodeled and removed to East Cain street, where it is now 
used as a school house. Dr. Powell died in 1870, leaving behind 
him a highly creditable name as a man and physician." 

In his history of Atlanta written a dozen vears ago, Wallace 



84 Atlanta And Its Builders 

P. Reed gives some reminiscences of Colonel D. N. Sloan, which 
will interestingly supplement those of Mr. Smith : 

"Colonel Sloan came to the place in 1850. When he was 
young his ideas turned toward adventure. Accordingly, he left 
his home in South Carolina with the determination to see at least 
a part of the country. His money was stolen from him on his 
way to Macon, Ga., and when he arrived at his destination he was 
destitute of funds. Consequently he had to go to work. Through 
a friend in Macon he obtained letters of recommendation to Emer- 
son Foote, superintendent of the Macon and Western railroad, 
and president at that time of the Macon and Western 
Telegraph Line. Thus Mr. Sloan obtained a position 
as telegraph operator at the station in Atlanta, and was 
the first telegraph operator Atlanta ever had. Mr. Sloan 
could not find words to describe the town at that time. 
Jonathan Norcross kept a general merchandise store at 
the corner of Marietta and Peachtree streets. He dealt 
in groceries and dry goods, and made a specialty of 'shingles and 
feathers,' and had a sign to that effect. I. O. McDaniel also kept 
a general merchandise store on Whitehall street. Clark & Grutt 
kept a grocery store on Whitehall street. Mr. Perryman kept a 
grocery store on what is now Alabama street, but it was not then 
called a street. R. Dulin kept a general merchandise store on 
Whitehall street, and Wash. Collier kept a general merchandise 
store at what is now the junction of Line, Peachtree and Decatur 
streets. Richard Kile also kept a general merchandise store on 
the corner of Marietta and Peachtree streets. J. T. Doane was a 
great cotton merchant here at that time. His place of business 
was on Whitehall street. Atlanta had several good doctors. 
Among them were Dr. Josh Gilbert, who used to carry a shrill 
whistle around with him, and occasionally stop and blow it to let 
the people know where to find him ; Dr. J. F. Alexander, Dr. W. 
F. Westmoreland, and a French physician named D'Alvigney. 
Lawyers seemed to be scarce. Judge L. E. Bleckley was the prin- 
cipal lawyer at that time, and there was one by the name of John 
W T ing. 

"Atlanta being the only railroad center for miles around, had 
a very fair trade in country produce. The countrymen brought 



Well-Known Pioneer Citizens 85 

their chickens, eggs and butter into Atlanta from the country, and 
there was a very much larger range than there is now. The 
average farmer did not make much profit, for eggs sold at four or 
five cents a dozen ; butter at seven, eight and ten cents a pound, 
and other country produce in proportion. After selling at these 
prices he bought his cloth and other necessities, at what would 
now be considered enormous prices. Calico that can now be 
bought for two or three cents a yard, was sold then for fifteen to 
twenty cents. Cotton was lower, though not much below the 
present market. One thing that lowered the price of country 
produce was the fact that Atlanta was a country town, and almost 
everyone had his or her garden of potatoes, onions and other 
vegetables. Very few melons were raised in the country at that 
time. Once in a while farmers would bring them in, but not very 
often. At the present time, however, the melon trade is one of 
our important industries. Nearly everybody kept their own cows, 
and so the farmers did not sell much milk. The cows were al- 
lowed perfect liberty to graze where they pleased, and so were the 
hogs, which were owned by many of the citizens. At the time 
Colonel Sloan lived here, Jonathan Norcross was mayor. There 
was a council, but it met when it pleased, and made laws at ran- 
dom. 

"Mr. Sloan remembers a speech made by Robert Toombs, on 
the platform in front of his office. He does not remember the 
issue, but says that Mr. Toombs made a severe attack on South 
Carolina, for some reason or other. When he finished speaking, 
Walter Colquitt replied to him in a very able speech, and show r ed 
the state up in its true light. 

"General Kossuth, the noted Hungarian patriot, was at that 
time visiting the United States, and with a large body of soldiery 
passed through Atlanta, on his way to Savannah. He went into 
Mr. Sloan's office for the purpose of sending a telegram to Savan- 
nah. Mr. Sloan asked him for the money for the telegram, 
whereupon he replied that he was not in the habit of paying for 
telegrams, and told him, in very emphatic terms, who he was. 
Mr. Sloan replied that he had no instructions not to charge the 
general, whereupon the Hungarian became very angry, but paid 
the bill. 



86 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"General Sam Houston, of Texas, while passing through 
Atlanta, stopped to look at the telegraph instrument. He said 
that he had never before seen one. He was at that time a con- 
gressman. 

"Richard Peters was said to be the wealthiest man in the 
place. He owned the finest house in town, which was a weather- 
boarded house, on Peters street, near the corner of Forsyth, and 
just to the west of Sam Inman's residence. Clark Howell, the 
father of Evan P. Howell, was also a very wealthy and influential 
man. Mr. Howell owned and lived in the only brick residence 
in the city. His young son Evan was the first telegraph messen- 
ger in Atlanta, an associate of Colonel Sloan. The houses of the 
more fortunate citizens were weatherboarded cottages, but the 
poorer people lived in log cabins. 

"About this time Atlanta was noted for its bad characters. 
There were several gamblers here who were known far and wide, 
but these were not looked upon as evil-doers, because there was no 
law against gambling. There was one gambler in town of special 
note, namely Jack Edmundson. He was looked upon rather as a 
benefactor. It was said that he would never take the advantage 
of any man, nor would he take money from a poor man, even 
though he won it. He neither took advantage of youth nor ig- 
norance, and he gave to the poor and was very much respected. 
There were a great many other noted gamblers in and around 
Atlanta, but these, unlike the one spoken of, were generally of bad 
reputation. 

"There was only one telegraph instrument in the city, and 
that was the one Mr. Sloan used ; and the line extending from 
Macon to Atlanta was the only one known. This instrument w r as 
one of the old-style paper register machines, but was a very great 
curiosity to the people around Atlanta. Telegrams from here to 
New York had to go around by the way of Savannah. In 1850 
Mr. Sloan says that he saw a man by the name of Thomas Kile 
murdered in front of his office. He was stabbed, and the mur- 
derer made good his escape. Kile's daughter caught her father's 
body in order to support him, and was covered all over with blood. 
The murderer used to send telegrams to his family here through 
Mr. Sloan's office. The man was in Alabama and sent the tele- 



IV ell-Known Pioneer Citizens 87 

grams through Macon. The authorities here endeavored to find 
out through Mr. Sloan his whereabouts, but could not do so. He 
would not betray the secrets of the office even in such a case, 
except on one occasion. He received a dispatch to the marshal of 
Atlanta, notifying him to look out on the Georgia train for one 
Philip Goode, who was wanted in South Carolina for murder. 
Mr. Sloan was a native of South Carolina, and knew this man 
very well, and they were personal friends. He knew that if 
Goode had murdered anyone he had done so in a drunken row, or 
something of the kind, as he was of a good family. So he man- 
aged to go to the train before he saw the marshal, and the first 
man he met was Goode, whom he told to escape for his life. 
Goode left, and immediately afterward Mr. Sloan met the marshal 
and gave him the telegram. The marshal hastened to the train, 
but missed his man. 

"Once a green countryman came to town to send a negro to 
Macon, on the train. Several of the fun-loving boys here told 
him to send him by telegraph, as it would be cheaper. Accord- 
ingly, they sent him with the negro over to Mr. Sloan's office. 
He, suspecting some trick, got them to take hold of the poles of 
his battery, and then turned on the circuit, whereupon they began 
to jump around, and the white man said he didn't want to go too. 
He soon found out, however, that he was being duped, and he 
broke loose and made for Sloan, who had to hide, for he saw that 
the countrymen intended to whip him. 

"Mr. Sloan had an offer made him in real estate, in 1850, 
which, if he had accepted, would have been to-day many thousand 
dollars in his pocket. A party, who was anxious to sell, offered 
him one hundred acres of land, including the ground on which the 
new capitol now stands, for $1,000. Mr. Sloan let the opportu- 
nity go by, and narrowly missed making a fortune." 



CHAPTER IX 

PROGRESS AND OUTLAWRY 

In 1849 Atlanta began to be looked upon as a big town and 
an important town. It was tbe Mecca of the adventurer and 
shrewd investor, as well as home-seeker, and, as can well be imag- 
ined, the elements of citizenship were incongruous and conditions 
chaotic. This was but the natural consequence in an inchoate 
town, suddenly made famous. At the first municipal election it 
was seen that the issue of the near future would be who should 
rule, the respectable and moral element, or the semi-outlaw, sport- 
ing class. Indeed, this issue was raised at that time, though in a 
more covert way than at the next election. Jonathan Norcross 
had been a candidate against Moses Formwalt for mayor, and it 
was well understood, among the "rowdies," at least, that their 
greatest security lay in the election of the latter. Murrell's Row 
was solid for Formwalt. 

Before narrating the exciting incidents of the Norcross elec- 
tion in 1850, it is best to note something of the progress of the 
community the previous year, and to consider conditions that 
made a conflict between the two forces inevitable in the next local 
political campaign. The completion of the State road was an 
event of 1849, anc ^ a vei T vital event in the early history of At- 
lanta. Commercially the young city was now unbound and free 
to give her feet the wings of Mercury. The increase in popula- 
tion was on the ''magical" order. By the end of this year it is 
safe to say that 2,500 people were numbered in Atlanta's popula- 
tion, and more than an hundred newcomers arriving every month. 
The amount of building going on was remarkable for so small a 
town in the East. Brick yards lined the outskirts, and the hum 
of the circular saw resounded through the environing woods. 
The place was full of mechanics attracted from an hundred miles 



Progress And Outlawry 89 

around to get temporary work. Wages were good for that day, 
and employment to be had for the asking. In the residence por- 
tion of the town extensive improvement was in progress. Beau- 
tiful residences were going up on Marietta, Peachtree and Decatur 
streets, then the best residence quarters, some of them spacious 
brick mansions with classic porticos. The log cabins good 
enough for two or three years before were torn down to make 
room for neat frame cottages, and grades were established on the 
central streets and some preliminary paving done. The shipping 
interests of the town had become very large, and now that the 
Western and Atlantic "went somewhere," traffic by rail increased 
enormously. 

In this year of unexampled prosperity and activity, a new 
paper was born in Atlanta, and its coming was a signal that the 
time was ripe for grappling with the law and order problem. The 
sheet was called the Atlanta Intelligencer, and its editor was that 
irrepressible reformer and divine, Joseph Baker, nothing daunted 
by the extinction of his Luminary. The new paper was owned 
by a joint stock company composed of Colonel Z. A. Rice, Ira O. 
McDaniel, Benjamin F. Bomar and Jonathan Norcross. They 
hired the Rev. Baker to edit their paper, and their purpose was 
soon manifest. 

The town was by this time in a disgracefully disorderly 
condition, the authority of the municipal government being set at 
naught by the hundreds of "toughs" who had no visible means of 
support. As the time for holding another city election drew near, 
the alignment of the opposing forces was well under way, and the 
bitterest sort of a feeling existed between them long before the 
nominations were made. The Intelligencer thundered against the 
"Rowdy Party," and called for a clean sweep. A mass meeting 
of the "upholders of good morals and public order" nominated 
Jonathan Norcross as the candidate of what was called the "Moral 
Party," and the other faction nominated Lawyer L. C. Simpson, 
for mayor. To say that the campaign was hot would not be at all 
hyperbolical. During every day that it endured, one or more 
more or less prominent citizens were put "hors du combat" by the 
crudest exercise of the art of pugilism, and during much of the 
time, after dark, the town seemed to be in possession of a howling 



90 Atlanta And Its Builders 

mob. There were over forty drinking saloons in the place, to say 
nothing of the groceries that dealt in ardent refreshments, and it 
goes without saying that they all did a landoffice business while 
the great political war raged. While Simpson and his 
backers were turning their money loose in the bar-rooms, 
Jonathan Norcross and his friends, to emphasize the 
moral plane on which they were righting, treated liber- 
ally to apples and confectionery. The Moral Party held 
several big rallies at which the leaders denounced the 
corruption and disorder existing in Atlanta, and called upon the 
better element to rescue the city from rowdyism and vice. The 
Rowdy Party held no mass meetings, but an outlet was not want- 
ing for their enthusiasm. Happily the election passed off without 
any fatalities, resulting in the election of Jonathan Norcross as 
mayor of Atlanta. 

It had been the boast of the most turbulent spirits in the 
Rowdy Party that "Uncle Jonathan" would find the town too hot 
to hold him, if he tried to execute his proposed reforms, and in 
more than one instance he had been threatened with personal vio- 
lence. It was a part of the mayor's duties to hold police court, 
there being no municipal recorder at that time. Mayor Norcross 
had been in office but a day or two when he was called upon to try 
a burly ruffian who had been arrested for an affray on the street. 
Trouble was expected at the hearing, as some of the most danger- 
ous Murrellites were suspected of plotting to do the new mayor 
harm by getting themselves arrested and attacking him in open 
court. The city government then had its headquarters in a sec- 
ond story room of the building afterward occupied by the dry 
goods establishment of John Keely. A large crowd was present 
to witness the mayor's first case, and a large part of the spectators 
were by no means sympathetic. The case proceeded with due 
formality, and as the evidence was conclusive. Mayor Norcross 
fined the bully and was about to proceed with the next case when 
the fellow suddenly rose from his chair, as the officers were ad- 
vancing to his side to take him to the calaboose, and drew a wick- 
ed-looking bowie knife with a blade at least a foot long. Flour- 
ishing the weapon over his head, the prisoner loudly defied any 
man in the court room to take him and declared that he proposed 



Progress And Outlawry 91 

to start a slaughter pen right there. At that he started to cut and 
slash right and left with his big knife, the crowd falling over each 
other in their frightened efforts to get down the stairway. Allen 
E. Johnson, the sheriff of DeKalb county, was present in the 
room, as were City Marshal William McConnell, and Deputy 
Marshal Benjamin N. Williford. C. H. Strong joined these 
officers in their effort to cope with the desperate man. As for 
Mayor Norcross, he quickly sprang from his old splint-bottom 
chair, and raising it high above his head in a defensive attitude 
awaited the attack of the desperado, having no better weapon. 
It was evident that the man was intent at getting at the mayor. 
Sheriff Johnson always carried a stout hickory cane, and in this 
emergency it stood him in good stead. He aimed a blow with 
his cane at the hand that held the knife, and a second later the 
knife was ringing on the floor and the hand in a fit condition for 
a poultice. Sheriff Johnson and Mr. Strong then seized the 
prisoner and, disregarding the scowling faces of his friends, who 
had not the nerve to carry out their conspiracy, hustled him down 
stairs into the street. By this time it was dark, court having 
been called late in the afternoon, and the prisoner managed to 
escape amid the jostling crowd in the darkness. He was never 
seen again in Atlanta. 

The next day the town was at fever pitch of excitement, and 
everybody felt that serious trouble was imminent. Business was 
practically suspended, and the men of both factions gathered in 
groups and talked threateningly. There were several hundred 
unsavory characters in the Rowdy Party who, it was feared, 
would not scruple to raise a bloody riot, and the more timid of the 
respectable element were talking seriously of leaving town. 
Among the majority of the latter, however, the sentiment was 
strong for organizing a vigilance committee, if the machinery of 
municipal government was inadequate to cope with the grave 
situation. The next night the Rowdy Party took the belicose 
initiative. In the village of Decatur was a small, ancient cannon, 
a relic of the War of 1812, which the townsfolk were wont to 
fire on Fourth of July and other occasions of public jubilation. 
This the "rowdies" obtained by some means, the next night, and 
planted in front of Jonathan Norcross's store, with the muzzle 



92 Atlanta And Its Builders 

trained upon the building. They fired it off two or three times. 
but it was only loaded with sand and gravel, and no damage was 
done, save dirtying Norcross's porch. The outlaws left a written 
notice, however, to the effect that Mayor Norcross must either 
resign or leave town, or they would return and blow up his store. 
This lawless act was not interfered with by the city authorities, 
the marshal and his assistants keeping at a discreet distance, and 
none of the Moral Party showing themselves. But the next day 
there was no shrinking on the part of the good citizens. The 
mayor called a secret meeting of the council, which resulted in 
his issuing a proclamation calling upon all law-abiding citizens to 
form themselves at once into a volunteer police force to aid in 
securing the enforcement of the local laws. The response of the 
Moral Party was immediate and determined. Citizens 
assembled in front of the Norcross store with their guns and pis- 
tols, and all day the work of organizing them into a volunteer 
police force proceeded quietly. Trouble was expected after 
nightfall. The Rowdy Party also perfected a warlike organiza- 
tion during the day, meeting in force in a house on Decatur street, 
near where the Willingham building now stands. 

The old cannon had been left in the middle of the street at the 
four corners, as a menace to Norcross's store, but the desperate 
"sporting fraternity" did not muster courage to return and put 
their threat into execution. Had they done so, a hand-to-hand 
battle would have been fought right there, for the Moral Party 
was guarding the vicinity, at least a hundred strong, and its 
guards and patrols were scattered all over the town. At mid- 
night, there being evidently no danger of an attack by the Rowdy 
Party, a large squad of the volunteer police, under the leadership 
of A. W. Mitchell, was detailed to move upon the headquarters 
of the enemy in the building spoken of on Decatur street. There 
were several squads, commanded by leaders of well-known cour- 
age appointed by the mayor and council, and these moved upon 
other low quarters of the town where the rowdies rendezvoused. 
Before this show of courageous force the Rowdy Party dissolved 
like frost in the warm breath of the sun. Not a man, for all 
their former bluster, stood his ground, but the whole unsavory 
lot slunk like coyotes to their holes, except such as fell into the 



Progress And Outlawry 93 

hands of the A'olunteer police as they were attempting to escape. 
Some fifteen or twenty rowdy ringleaders, however, remained in 
the Decatnr street house too long, and when they attempted to 
rlee, found the house surrounded. They were arrested, without 
offering any resistance, and conducted by a large armed force to 
the little calaboose, where they were locked up. As the place 
would not hold all the prisoners, only the worst ones were thrust 
inside and the rest strongly guarded in a private building. 

The cases against the captured rowdies were set for the next 
day, and the whole town turned out at the trial, the street in front 
of the city hall being choked with people. One after another the 
offenders were convicted and fined to the limit allowed by the 
charter, and in default of the fine, most of them were remanded to 
jail. This broke the backbone of the "rebellion," though for 
several weeks unusual vigilance and energy was required on the 
part of the municipal authorities to preserve order, and the whole 
volunteer police force was not disbanded for some time. During 
the rest of his administration Mayor Norcross was not molested, 
but he received several anonymous threats through the mail and 
the feeling against him in Murrell's Row was dangerously vindic- 
tive. 

The effort to reform Atlanta was genuine and in a large 
measure effective. Shortly after the exciting incidents related in 
the foregoing, the moral crusaders turned their attention to two 
pestiferous quarters of the suburbs, known by the pleasing name 
of Snake Nation and Slab Town. In these places, in particular, 
occurred scenes of debauchery and indecency that shocked the 
moral sense of the community. It seems that these pest holes 
were just beyond the city limits of that time, and that, in conse- 
quence, the city was unable to include them in its wholesome 
regulations. Thither the worst characters of Murrell's Row re- 
tired, male and female, and continued their depraved practices 
without the danger of legal molestation. Finally, determining to 
endure the disgraceful places no longer, a large body of disguised 
Atlantans moved against Slab Town and Snake Nation by night. 
The men found in the filthy huts were whipped by the "White 
Caps" and warned to leave town, while the abandoned creatures 
of the other sex were hauled nearly to Decatur, when thev were 



94 Atlanta And Its Builders 

allowed to go with a similar warning. The shanties of the two 
disreputable quarters were then destroyed by fire, and so complete 
was the destruction and effective example that the places were not 
rebuilt, or similar places built up again soon. 

The city administration of 1849 was not regarded as bad, 
so much as weak. Good men composed it — men prominent the 
next year in the work of cleaning out the dives. It required a 
man with the boldness and rigid morality of Jonathan Norcross 
to give the reform movement the necessary official backbone. The 
mayor who preceded Mr. Norcross and succeeded Mayor 
Form wait was Benjamin F. Bomar, and the members of 
the council of 1849 were Jonas J. Smith, Ira O. Mc- 
Daniel, P. M. Hodge, A. B. Forsyth, H. C. Holcombe 
and J. A. Hayden. The mayor who succeeded Mayor 
Bomar in 1850 was W. Buell, and the council over 
which he presided was composed of H. C. Holcombe, Joel Kelsey, 
P. M. Hodge, J. T. Humphries, S. T. Biggers and B. W. Roark. 
Before continuing the narrative of Atlanta's progress in the early 
fifties, it will be well to take some note of the routine municipal 
happenings of 1849 and 1850. 

The office of deputy city marshal was abolished by the new 
council on January 18, 1849, an ^ tne salary of the city marshal 
was placed at $300, and he was required to give a bond of $2,000. 
Other salary and bond modifications were made at the same time. 
The treasurer was allowed two per cent, of all moneys received, 
and two per cent, of all moneys paid out, as before, and his bond 
fixed at $4,000. The compensation of the tax collector and re- 
ceiver was fixed at three per cent, of all moneys received, and three 
per cent of all moneys paid out, with a bond of $4,000. The 
clerk's fees were to be regulated by the ordinances of the city, and 
he was required to give a thousand dollar bond. The officers 
elected by this council were: H. M. Boyd, tax collector and 
receiver ; German M. Lester, marshal ; Oswald Houston, treas 
urer; John L. Harris, clerk. A. B. Forsyth and P. M. Hodge 
were appointed a committee on patrols. Councilmen McDaniel, 
Smith and Hayden were appointed a committee on streets. At 
this meeting Daniel Dougherty offered to macadamize "the 
street" for a distance of one hundred and forty yards, for a width 



Progress And Outlawry 95 

of forty feet and a depth of sixteen and one-half inches, at a cost 
to the city of $700. 

On the 7th of February council apportioned the tax for 1849, 
fixing a rate of thirty cents on each one hundred dollars' worth of 
real estate and merchandise. On the 24th of May it was resolved 
that the mayor be authorized to sell the hospital, provided he 
could obtain original cost. On July 30th a special meeting was 
held to consider the question of a plank road between Lynch's 
corner and the post-office. This road was to be twenty feet in 
width. At the same session the clerk was required to regularly 
furnish the Intelligencer a report of the proceedings of the council. 
On September 10th the question of opening Pryor street was 
again before council, and it being evident that there was really a 
street running parallel with the five acres of land donated to the 
state by Samuel Mitchell, it was unanimously resolved that all 
obstructions be removed from Pryor street, and that the Georgia 
Railroad and Banking Company, and the Macon and Western 
Railway Company be required to remove any obstructions which 
they may have placed on Pryor street. 

On the 4th of October it was resolved that a committee be 
appointed to make a contract with some landholder of the vicinity 
for a suitable graveyard for the city. The members of the grave- 
yard committee were A. B. Forsyth, B. F. Bomar and J. J. Smith. 
On the first of November the committee reported that they had 
inspected a number of tracts of land near the city, and that they 
had practically settled on the land desired, but that it was held at 
an exorbitant price. The committee was continued and instruct- 
ed, if possible, to exchange the hospital lot for lands adjoining the 
graveyard then in use. 

After the election held in January, 1850, the bonds of the 
officers appointed by council were again revised, that of the treas- 
urer being placed at $5,000; tax receiver and collector, $5,000; 
clerk, $2,000; marshal, $2,000; deputy marshal, $2,000. It will 
be noticed from the latter item that the office of deputy marshal 
was restored by the council of 1850. Oswald Houston was 
elected treasurer; Hugh M. Boyd, tax receiver and collector; 
John L. Harris, clerk ; and German M. Lester, marshal. 

At a meeting of the council held February 8, 1850, the 
following resolution was adopted : That each and every person, 



96 Atlanta And Its Builders 

at the time of taking out his license, shall give bond in the sum of 
$200, with two good and sufficient sureties, that he will not know- 
ingly violate or permit to be violated within his retail house, or on 
the premises thereof, any state law or by-law of thecityof Atlanta, 
without giving notice thereof to the corporate authorities of said 
city within twenty-four hours thereafter, and that the giving of 
such notice shall avoid the forfeiture. It was decided at the ses- 
sion on the 15th of the same month to have sidewalks built on 
every business street, eight feet in width, and property-holders 
were given permission to plant ornamental trees along the side- 
walks. The new council adopted the Intelligencer as its official 
organ, upon the condition that the proceedings be published gratis. 
The editor, who was present, accepted the honor, and the thanks 
of the body was tendered him by resolution. 

On the 9th of March the committee on graveyard made an- 
other report to the effect that Messrs. Cone and Williamson 
agreed to give the city one acre of land and sell it four acres more 
at one hundred dollars an acre. The proposition was accepted, 
but upon a motion to reconsider, the resolution was withdrawn 
and the committee discharged. A new committee was then ap- 
pointed, composed of Messrs. Hodge and Roark. On the nth 
of March the question of holding an agricultural fair at Atlanta, 
a pet progressive project of the time, was discussed with much 
enthusiastic interest. A committee consisting of Messrs. Luckie, 
Thompson, Hodge, Hayden, Ezzard and Bomar was appointed 
to solicit subscriptions to the lists which had been sent in by 
Messrs. Jones and Hayden. On the 5th of April the gratifying 
announcement was made that the subscription had been suffi- 
ciently increased to warrant the statement that the desired sum of 
$1,000 could be collected and presented as a bonus to the locating 
committee of the Southern Agricultural Association as an induce- 
ment to secure the annual holding of its fairs at Atlanta. In 
order to further assist the fair association and make its annual 
fairs a permanent attraction at Atlanta, council, on the 
10th of April, passed a resolution that a conveyance 
containing ten acres, more or less, particularly described 
in a bond for title from Lemuel P. Grant to Augustus 
S. Rhodes, and known as the hospital lot of the city of Atlanta, 



Progress And Outlawry 97 

be executed to the Southern Agricultural Association, to have and 
to hold said lot so long as the said association should continue to 
hold their annual meetings in the city of Atlanta, with a clause in 
said deed authorizing the officers of said association to permit the 
city of Atlanta to use said lot and buildings for other public meet- 
ings, so long as the citizens shall not abuse said property or privi- 
lege ; said property, with the buildings thereon, to revert to the 
mayor and council of Atlanta, when said Southern Agricultural 
Association should cease to use annually the lot and buildings for 
the purposes designated in said deed of conveyance. 

The Southern Agricultural Association did not see fit to ac- 
cept the proposition of the Atlanta city council, in its original 
form, and there was considerable parleying between the two or- 
ganizations. The fair people seemed to think that Atlanta 
wanted to exercise too much authority and reserve for herself too 
many privileges. The terms of the donation were modified, 
however, to meet the wishes of the fair association, under a mu- 
tual compromise. Referring to the matter at some length. His- 
torian Reed says: "On December 10th, 1850, a communication 
was received from the Hon. Mark A. Cooper, chairman of the 
committee of the association, with reference to the matter of the 
fair grounds, which was answered by Jonathan Norcross, mayor 
of Atlanta, on April 1, 185 1. The substance of the communica- 
tion of Mayor Norcross was to the effect that the mayor and 
council of Atlanta had. on April 10th, 1850, proposed to deed to 
the Southern Agricultural Association the hospital lot, containing 
ten acres of land, upon which the association should have the 
privilege of holding its fairs, upon the condition that the corpor- 
ate authorities of the city of Atlanta should have the privilege of 
opening the grounds for the reception of other public gatherings, 
when the grounds were not in use by the association. These 
conditions were rejected by the association's committee on loca- 
tion, and the city authorities subsequently made a deed to the 
association with the condition only that the land, with the build- 
ings and appurtenances thereon, should revert to the city when 
the annual fairs of the association had ceased to longer be held 
thereon. Thus the city authorities were excluded from the 
grounds, except in times of the fair, and then they had to pay an 



98 Atlanta And Its Builders 

entrance fee in the same manner that other people had to pay to 
gain entrance to the grounds. This condition, taking into con- 
sideration the guarantee of $1,000 which the city had made good, 
was considered rather severe upon the city authorities, and was 
the cause of much dissatisfaction. Besides this, there seemed 
to be some difference of opinion between the association and the 
mayor and the city council as to the guarantee fund itself. Mayor 
Norcross was of the opinion that the city had performed its part 
of the contract by the payment of $750, the Georgia Railroad 
Company having paid $250, which payments together made up 
the $1,000 guaranteed. That the $250 paid by the Georgia 
Railroad Company was intended to be included in the guarantee, 
was certified to by W. W. Roark, Joel Kelsey and Stephen T. Big- 
gers, of the council, and by Henry C. Holcombe and the mayor, 
W. Buell, on February 28th, 185 1. Thus the matter rested for 
a considerable time." 

On May 3, 1850, the new graveyard committee reported that 
they had been unable to purchase a lot within the limits of the 
city, owing to the exorbitant price at which the ground was held, 
but that just without the city line they had discovered a suitable 
lot, which could be purchased at a reasonable price. This did 
not satisfy council, it seems, for the committee was discharged 
and it was resolved that the mayor and the members of the coun- 
cil go as a committee of the whole to visit lots within the city 
limits that were believed to be such as were suitable for graveyard 
purposes, and particularly to the lot of Judge Cone, which the 
committee had had under consideration. On the 1st of June a 
graveyard plot was finally purchased from A. W. Wooding, con- 
sisting of six acres, for which $75 per acre was paid. The new 
cemetery was called the Atlanta cemetery. 

On the 27th of May council adopted a resolution that, in its 
opinion, there should be a public street on the west side of the pub- 
lic square belonging to the state, and which was properly a con- 
tinuation of Pryor street, but for lack of means it could not be 
opened by the city at that time. On the 30th of August council 
passed a resolution pledging the city of Atlanta to take $10,000 
of the stock of a plank road which it was proposed to build be- 
tween Atlanta and Dahlonega, to be taken when the amount sub- 



Progress And Outlawry 99 

scribed should come within $10,000 of being sufficient to build 
the plank road with the necessary bridges. The plan was to pay 
for this stock by issuing city bonds of the amount of $10,000, re- 
deemable after ten years, and bearing interest at the rate of seven 
per cent. Another similar resolution was adopted, subscribing 
to the plank road to Jacksonville, by way of Altamaha. The 
terms were identical. 



CHAPTER X 

THE EARLY FIFTIES 

Things went very well in Atlanta after the forces of disorder 
and insubordination were subdued. The young city became 
quiet, so far as law and order was concerned, but not quiet, by any 
means, as to enterprise and growth. The place was nothing if 
not bustling. Its trade had steadily expanded, and its reputa- 
tion as a cheap trading point extended far and wide. Atlanta 
was known as a cash town in contradistinction to the credit pol- 
icy so prevalent and so ruinous in the older cities of the state. At 
a very early period in her history Atlanta laid the foundation of 
her great commercial supremacy and rapid upbuilding by adopt- 
ing the plan of trading on a cash basis strictly and selling at a nar- 
row margin of profit. 

It was in 1850 that Atlanta experienced her first fire. Two 
fires, in fact, occurred simultaneously, one in a business house on 
Alabama street and one in a cotton warehouse a little out of the 
business center. These fires were extinguished by an improvised 
bucket brigade made up of well nigh the entire male population, 
but not, however, until several bales of cotton had been con- 
sumed. The night of the fires the money drawer of the Georgia 
Railroad depot was broken open and its contents stolen. The 
general opinion was that the fires had been started by incendia- 
ries for the purpose of creating an excitement, in the midst of 
which they could loot unprotected property. It was known that 
some suspicious characters were sojourning in the town, and after 
this occurrence, the police quietly notified them to leave, which 
they did with alacrity. 

Thus warned, the property-holders, who for some time had 
been agitating the organization of a fire department, met in mass 
convention and went about the proposed organization in a prac- 
tical way. The legislature was applied to for a charter, which 
was granted under the name of Atlanta Fire Company No. 1. 



The Early Fifties 101 

The charter members were : W. W. Baldwin, W. Barnes, C. 
C. Rhodes, G. R. Frazer, H. Muhlinbrink, B. T. Lamb, Reuben 
Gardner, S. Frankford, P. J. Immell, C. W. Hunnicutt, John Ker- 
shaw, T. J. Malone, H. M. Mitchell, W. J. Houston, L. J. Parr, 
J. F. Reynolds, C. A. Whaley, A. C. Pulliam and J. S. Malone. 
The act of the legislature was approved by Governor Herschel V. 
Johnson, and the company was soon in fire-fighting trim. There 
was some difficulty in raising the funds necessary for the equip- 
ment of a company with a hand engine and 500 feet of leather 
hose, but by dint of much perseverance the good work was accom- 
plished. The next step was to secure the location for the engine 
house. A suitable site was found on Broad street, between the 
old calaboose, which extended to the railroad, and the public mar- 
ket on the other side, which extended to Alabama street. The 
original building on this lot is said to have been a fine old South- 
ern mansion, the home of Ewell Wright. The yard of the resi- 
dence occupied the whole square between Alabama street and the 
railroad, and was very attractive, being filled with lordly shade 
trees and beautiful flowers. Here was built the little one-story 
engine house. As other companies were formed, they built 
houses for the apparatus in other parts of the city, but No. 1 house 
was known as the general headquarters, and the first alarm bell 
was put in there. Before the bell was installed in its place, an- 
other story was added to the structure and a tower built for the 
bell. The same bell used a half century ago is still used by the 
fire department in its handsome headquarters on West Alabama 
street, and every Atlantan is familiar with its resonant tones. 
From this little building the protection of the city from fires was 
directed by the volunteers until the paid fire department was or- 
ganized about 1877. The old hand engine was called "Blue 
Dick," and all the country for miles around gathered with no 
little curiosity to see it perform its work. Fire engines were a 
decided novelty in those days. The first exhibition was voted a 
success, and from that day the proud firemen were the pets of i\t- 
lanta, the city always evincing much enthusiasm in its support of 
fire measures. Few of the charter members of Atlanta Fire 
Company No. 1 are now living. W. W. Baldwin was the first 
president of the company and was elected chief, which office he 




John Silvey 



The Early Fifties 103 

held two terms, declining re-election for a third term. H. Muh- 
linbrink was the first treasurer, and was succeeded by Henry 
Kuhrt, Sr. A number of the early members of the old volunteer 
fire company are prominent business men and citizens of Atlanta 
at this writing. Among them are Major John H. Mecaslin, J. 
H. Ellsworth, "Uncle Tom" Haney, Henry Haney, foreman of 
Engine House No. 4, Thomas W. Haney, chief of the Jackson- 
ville, Fla., fire department; John Berkele, Charles Heinz, Charles 
Heinz, Jr., John M. Heinz, Peter Lynch, Charles Klassett, Jemmy 
Mann, Jacob Emmel, Mike Emmel, William Erskine, George H. 
Deihl, John K. Weaver, and others. As near as can be ascer- 
tained, the old volunteers sold their apparatus to the city in the 
early spring of 1882, and since leaving active service, the com- 
pany has been perpetuated with Major Mecaslin as president ; 
George Deihl, vice-president ; J. M. Heinz, secretary, and John 
Berkele, treasurer. Before dismissing the subject of the organ- 
ization and early history of Atlanta Fire Company No. 1, it is in- 
teresting to add that a few years ago the old building partly col- 
lapsed and the north end, with the tower, fell over the embank- 
ment upon the railroad tracks. It was repaired and transformed 
into a one-story building again, and was rented out as a store, its 
tenant generally being a produce commission merchant. It was 
the remnant of this historic building that was torn down in the 
summer of 1901 to make room for Hugh Inman's handsome mod- 
ern structure. For a number of years prior to the partial col- 
lapse of the old engine house, one of the interesting features about 
the place was the grave of a dog, located on the extreme edge of 
the embankment in a grass plot kept green by the firemen. The 
grave was marked by a weather-stained wooden board on which 
was inscribed simply the name "Jeff." The dog belonged to 
Jake Emmel, of the volunteer company, and was a favorite with 
the firemen of long ago, running with the company to all fires. 

There were a number of substantial citizens in Atlanta by 
this time. Er Lawshe, who came sometime in 1848, and John 
Silvey, who came the following year, were leaders in all move- 
ments looking to the advancement of the city. The Lynches, 
energetic Irishmen of sturdy qualities, were among the prominent 
newcomers. There were five brothers of them. Patrick Lynch 



104 Atlanta And Its Builders 

was a stone mason who knew his trade thoroughly and, during 
his lifetime, had the distinction of building more foundations and 
stone walls in Atlanta than, perhaps, any dozen masons. He 
built the Georgia Railroad machine shops in 1850. John and 
James Lynch were well-to-do grocers. 

The banking agencies established in the city were either rail- 
road or branch institutions. A regular bank was now organized 
by George Smith, a gentleman from Chicago who had large finan- 
cial connections. The capital stock was $300,000. The local 
management was in the hands of J. R. Valentine. 

The Catholics and Episcopalians by this time had substan- 
tial church structures erected. The first priest of the former 
church was Father Ouinn, and the first rector of the latter church 
was John J. Hunt. 

The council elected to serve under the mayorship of Jona- 
than Norcross was composed of Julius A. Harden, John T. Hum- 
phries, D. McSheffrey, \Y. W. Roark, John Jones and Pascha! 
House. The salaries and bonds of the several officers appointed 
by the new council were fixed as follows : Marshal, salary $350, 
and bond $3,000; treasurer, salary one and one-half per cent, of 
all moneys received and disbursed, and $6,000 bond ; deputy mar- 
shal, salary, $300, and $2,000 bond. On the 23d of February. 
185 1, an ordinance was passed consolidating the two offices of 
clerk and tax receiver and collector. The salary of this official 
for acting as clerk was to be in accordance with the ordinances, 
and for acting as tax receiver and collector it was fixed at two 
and one-half per cent, on all moneys received and disbursed. The 
bond of the consolidated office was placed at $6,000. At the 
election on January 24th, William McConnell had been elected 
marshal; Oswald Houston, treasurer; Benjamin J. Williford, 
deputy marshal ; Adam X. Jones, clerk and tax receiver and col- 
lector. 

On February 14th council adopted an ordinance which re- 
quired each building within the city limits, kitchens and other 
small houses excepted, to be furnished with a ladder, and each 
store and dwelling to be supplied with two buckets to be used in 
the emergency of fire. On February 21st O. H. P. Canant was 
elected city sexton, and Mr. Humphries was given authority to 



The Early Fifties 105 

proceed with the plotting and enclosing of the lots in the new 
cemetery. On the 28th of March Mr. Frankford appeared he- 
fore the council to urge the great necessity of digging wells to 
supply the necessary water in case of fire. Subsequently council 
authorized the committee on wells to proceed with the digging 
of a well at the corner of Whitehall and Mitchell streets, to be 
eight feet square and hold fifteen feet of water; another of the 
same dimensions to be dug at the corner of Marietta and Peach- 
tree streets, in front of Norcross's store, and one, also, of the same 
dimensions, at the corner of Whitehall and Hunter streets. These 
three wells were to be covered with two-inch plank. At the same 
time a large reservoir fifteen feet square and fifteen feet deep was 
ordered dug on Alabama street, below the Holland House. On 
April nth the foregoing well ordinance was repealed, and as a 
substitute an ordinance was passed ordering wells to be dug in 
the four places specified, to be five feet in diameter, to contain ten 
feet of water, and to be covered with wood. It was further or- 
dered that wooden cisterns be built in connection with each well, 
not more than three feet distant, to contain ten feet of water. 

On June 4th the vexed Pryor street opening matter was ad- 
justed by the following action : "This meeting was called to 
consider a communication just received from John P. King, presi- 
dent of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company ; W. L. 
Mitchell, chief engineer of the Western and Atlantic Railroad 
Company, and Isaac Scott, president of the Macon and Western 
Railroad Company. This communication had reference to that 
part of Pryor street lying between the public square in the city 
of Atlanta, belonging to the state, and the depot lot of the Macon 
and Western Railroad. The action of council in the premises 
was taken in the following words: Tn consideration of the urg- 
ent necessity of the respective railroad interests occupying that 
portion of said street for tracks, etc., and in consideration of hav- 
ing a more convenient and equitable arrangement of depot build- 
ings upon said square, we do hereby resolve and agree to relin- 
quish and surrender up to the railroad companies and interests 
in this city, all claims to the aforesaid portion of said street. Be 
it further resolved that we deem it absolutely necessary for the 
satisfaction of private claims and interests adjoining the public 



106 Atlanta And Its Builders 

square, as well as the interests and claims of the citizens generally, 
that the respective tracks and depot buildings of the respective 
railroads be so arranged as to do equal justice to all the public 
and private claims as the convenience of the respective railroads 
will allow of being done.' " 

In accordance with the foregoing agreement on the city's 
part, the mayor and clerk were required to execute a relinquish- 
ment of that portion of Pryor street lying between the public 
square and the Macon and Western Railroad depot lot, and such 
part of said street as crosses the railroad tracks, to the respective 
railroad companies whose roads terminate in this city, and to the 
state of Georgia. 

For some months the question of building a city hall had 
been agitated, and at the session of June 4th a committee was ap- 
pointed to confer with Dr. Thompson with regard to the sale of 
a lot suitable for its location. The lot was purchased for that 
purpose from Dr. Thompson, and at a meeting of council held 
on September 20, 185 1, the erection of a substantial brick city hall 
was determined upon. The plan of the proposed building was as 
follows : Length, seventy feet ; width, fifty feet ; building to be 
two stories high ; lower story to have a passageway lengthwise 
through the building, ten feet in width. In the front end of the 
building, on the east side of this passage, was to be a room forty 
feet in length, for an engine room, and the other thirty feet was 
to be made into rooms for city guard house. The space in the 
other side of the building was to be divided in the same manner. 
A justice's court room was to occupy the front room, and the 
other tw r o rooms were to be occupied by the clerk's office and a 
guardhouse. The council chamber and mayor's office and court 
room were to occupy the upper story. The structure was to have 
large windows at each side and each end, and it was specified 
particularly that the sashes were to be hung with weights, to slide 
up and down. This was a new wrinkle in architectural convenience 
and evidently appreciated as a progressive departure. The lower 
story was to be twelve feet in height, and the upper one fifteen feet 
in the clear. 

At the city election in January, 1852, I. F. Gibbs was elected 
mayor, with the following councilmen, viz. : Stephen Terry, I. O. 



The Early Fifties 107 

McDaniel, L. C. Simpson, Jonathan Norcross, R. E. Mangum 
and Mr. Grimley. The proceedings of the council for this year 
seem to have been lost. The principal question of public interest 
during this administration was the building of a new city hall, but 
the question was how to raise the necessary fund to build it. The 
plan was to expend between $15,000 and $20,000 for this purpose. 

While such an extensive public improvement as the city hall 
was about to be put under way, it will prove somewhat diverting 
to read, in the Atlanta Intelligencer of February 19, 1852, what a 
wretched condition the streets and sidewalks of the little city were 
in. By the way, the Intelligencer was by this time a daily. This 
paper said under the head of "A Word to Strangers" : "If you 
arrive in town on any of the numerous railroads that terminate 
here, it will probably be just before dark. After refreshing your- 
selves with a hearty meal at some one of our well-conducted 
hotels, you will feel a desire to take a stroll about town, at least 
through Whitehall street. Starting from the vicinity of the rail- 
roads you can proceed fearlessly till you come to the first cross 
street, called Alabama street. Don't think of walking out of your 
direction to walk up that street, unless the moon shines particu- 
larly bright, or unless you can hang to the coat tail of some friend- 
ly guide ; as without such aids you would probably find yourself in 
about two minutes at the bottom of a pit, fifteen feet in diameter 
by eighteen feet deep, which occupies the center of the road, and 
thus occasion considerable trouble to those who happen to be near, 
in procuring ropes to drag you out ; and in such case, you might 
besides be inclined to form an unfavorable impression of our city 
regulations, as did a gentleman last week, who was hauled out of 
the pit pretty severely injured. 

"Passing this point, you can continue in Whitehall street, but 
by all means take the right hand side, as on the left side are two 
deep trenches dug out for cellars. We are not informed whether 
the cellar doors are built, or whether they are intended to extend to 
the center of the street, or only across the sidewalk. At present 
they are admirably adapted to catch unwary passengers. In one 
night last week, during a severe rain storm, they caught no less 
than five — two ladies and three gentlemen returning from a con- 
cert. One of these was a stranger in the city, and while spreading 



io8 Atlanta And Its Builders 

himself before a blazing fire, in the Holland House, to dry the red 
clay with which his garments were beautifully covered, gave way 
so much to his feelings that he was observed very much upset at 
the mention of our venerable city council. 

"Proceeding on the right hand side of the street, you will 
have a very comfortable walk until you come to Cook's corner, 
where the pavement ceases. Here you had better turn square 
n »und and walk back, for directly in advance is another pit, fifteen 
by eighteen feet, ready to take you in. In some parts of the town 
we believe these holes have been covered over. The one in front 
of Lloyd & Perryman's store, where a man fell in and broke his 
neck some weeks since, we are credibly informed was promptly 
covered after the event. 

"P. S. — Since the above was put in type we are gratified and 
delighted that each of the pits mentioned have been temporarily 
covered with plank, so as to avoid the recurrence of further acci- 
dents." 

It was during 1852 that the Atlanta and West Point Rail- 
road into Alabama was finished, being chiefly constructed by the 
Georgia Railroad Company. J. P. King was the first president 
of the road, and YV. P. Orme, secretary, treasurer and auditor. 
There was quite a little opposition in Atlanta to the building of 
this road, its opponents arguing that it would result in cotton pass- 
ing through Atlanta to Augusta that was now wagoned to Atlan- 
ta and for that reason a source of commercial support. Many 
who did not actually oppose the building of the Atlanta and West 
Point were suspicious of the effect of the road in the respect men- 
tioned and inclined to be afraid of the consequences. Such, in- 
deed, was the effect for a few years, and the importance of Atlanta 
as a great wagon cotton point declined considerably ; but what was 
lost in this respect was compensated for many times over by the 
greatly increased general commerce and traffic that the new line 
brought to Atlanta. As Colonel E. Y. Clarke said of the con- 
pletion of the Atlanta and West Point : "It proved only another 
feeder to the young" giant, which was fast developing a muscular 
power destined to thrust aside all its rivals, and pass them in the 
race for commercial prosperity and metropolitan dimensions. In 
fact, with the completion of these roads, Atlanta needed but one 



Th c Early Fifties 109 

other element of success to assure a triumphant career, and that 
was the element of pluck, energy and enterprise in its inhabitants. 
To what a nervous extent they possessed this element of success, 
will readily appear in the course of their history. Their railway 
system, though not complete, was sufficiently so to secure superi- 
ority, and to justify the prediction of John C. Calhoun and the 
bright visions of its most sanguine citizens." 

In this year the Christian church was organized by State 
Evangelist Daniel Hook, with a mere handful of members, but the 
zeal of the little band was so great that they built a neat and 
commodious church structure the following year. In 1852 also 
the handsome new First Presbyterian church was dedicated. It 
occupied an eligible site on Marietta street, a little way from the 
original business center, upon a lot donated to the congregation 
by Judge Cone. The building committee was composed of Judge 
Cone, Major Merry, Richard Peters, and Julius A. Hayden. 
Rev. John S. Wilson, the pioneer clergyman of Atlanta, was the 
first pastor. 

In the city election of January, 1853, the officers chosen 
were : Mayor, J. F. Mims ; councilmen, J. A. Hayden, J. Win- 
ship, W. M. Butt, J. Norcross, I. O. McDaniel and L. C. Simpson, 
It may be interesting to give the vote cast at this election. The 
officers for which the figures are given are those of mayor, mar- 
shal and deputy marshal. For mayor, John F. Mims received 
369 votes, and T. F. Gibbs 193; for marshal, B. N. 
Williford received 217, G. M. Lester, 195, Harvey Lit- 
tle 112, and W. C. Harris 42; for deputy marshal, 
Paschal House received 236, E. T. Hunnicutt 215, James 
Coker 24, F. Wilmot 38, and 31 votes were scattering. 
The officers chosen by council were: Marshal, Benjamin N. 
Williford; deputy marshal, Paschal House; clerk and tax receiver 
and collector, Henry C. Holcombe; treasurer, J. T. McGinty. 
The salaries and bonds as regulated by the administration of 1853 
were as follows : Salary of marshal, $400 and fees, with a 
$2,000 bond; of deputy marshal. $400 and a bond of $2,000; 
clerk and tax receiver and collector, two and one-half per cent, on 
all moneys received and disbursed, with a bond of $10,000; treas- 
urer's salary one and one-half per cent, on all moneys received 



no Atlanta And Its Builders 

and disbursed, and $6,ooo bond. The board of health for this 
year was composed of Dr. D. Hook, Dr. T. M. Darnall, Dr. T. S. 
Denny, B. H. Overby and R. Peters. G. A. Pilgrim was selected 
as city sexton. 

On the 28th of January, council passed an ordinance to the 
effect that a night police squad should be elected by that body, in 
conjunction with the mayor, to consist of three persons, one of 
whom should be designated chief of police. Under this ordinance 
it became the duty of the night police to guard the city from the 
ringing of the council bell at night, and until sunrise next morn- 
ing, and to enforce obedience to the ordinances and by-laws of 
the city. On February 4th treasurer McGinty resigned and was 
succeeded by Ambrose B. Forsyth. 

This council hit upon a practical plan to raise money for the 
erection of the new city hall. At its session of February 9th the 
committee on finance submitted a report in which it strongly 
opposed the plan of advertising for the sale of city bonds, express- 
ing the opinion that it did not consider it at all likely that a single 
bid would be offered if the bonds were advertised. As a substi- 
tute plan it submitted the following: That the mayor, at his dis- 
cretion, borrow $10,000 for the purpose of erecting a city hall, 
and give the city hall lot and the city hall itself as security, and 
also such other property as the city might then own ; and in addi- 
tion to all this, such special tax as might be assessed for the pur- 
pose of erecting the proposed city hall. It was proposed to make 
the loan for a period of ten years, with semi-annual interest, the 
council reserving to itself the right to pay the entire debt in three, 
iive or seven years. This plan met the approval of the majority 
of the council and was considered satisfactory by most of the citi- 
zens, if the local press reflected public opinion on the question. 
Many wanted at least $20,000 expended in the construction of the 
building, holding that while one so pretentious might be a little 
ahead of the city's progress, it was only adequately providing for 
Atlanta's needs a few years hence. The committee of council 
having the building in charge, however, thought that $10,000 or 
$15,000 at most, would be sufficient to erect a suitable city hall. 
Little else was talked about all summer, in municipal affairs, and 
it was not until the 26th of September that the plans and specifica- 



The Early Fifties 1 1 1 

tions offered were finally examined and a bid accepted. The plan 
presented by Mr. Hughes was adopted, and it was determined to 
begin the work without necessary delay. 

The matter of lighting the city was also seriously grappled 
with by this council. On March 25th, 1853, a resolution was 
adopted which required that a lamp be placed on the Market 
(Broad) street bridge, and that street lamps be placed at such 
points as they were most needed, at the expense of the city, pro- 
vided the citizens in the neighborhood of the lamps thus erected 
would agree to supply the lamps with the necessary illuminating 
fluid. Owing to the resignation of Mayor Minis in the fall, a 
special election was held on November 12th, at which William 
Markham, an energetic and thrifty New Englander, was elected 
mayor. On the 28th of November a committee consisting of 
Daniel Hook, Thomas S. Denny, Richard Peters and Thomas M. 
Darnall reported to the council that in their opinion, all slaughter 
pens within the corporate limits were nuisances and should be 
abated instanter. This was done. 

The report of the city's vital statistics made by the city sex- 
ton in 1853 f° r the quarter ending April 1st, shows: Deaths 
from pneumonia, 2 ; delirium, 1 ; complication, 1 ; old age, 1 ; 
measles, 1 ; typhoid, 1 ; pleurisy, 1 ; consumption, 1 ; cholera infan- 
tum, 1 ; not known, 3 ; colored persons, of diseases not known, 3 ; 
total number of deaths, 16. For the quarter ending July 1st the 
total number of deaths was $j ; for the quarter ending October 
1 st, 57, whites 47, blacks 10; and for the quarter ending January 
1 st, 1854, the number of deaths was 48, making the total for the 
year 158. At the time the foregoing report was made it will be 
remembered that the population of the city was in the neighbor- 
hood of 6,000. Newcomers were arriving on every train and the 
town was full of strange faces. 

As we are leaving the period when Atlanta was a city in 
name only and "everybody knew everybody," it will be of interest, 
to the older inhabitants at least, to append to this chapter a list of 
the pioneer residents of the period thus far covered, some of them, 
however, coming a year or two later. This list was found among 
the papers of the late Colonel C. R. Hanleiter, and it is preserved, 
with other interesting data of the early days, by that pioneer edi- 
tor's son, W. R. Hanleiter. 



I 12 



Atlanta And Its Builders 



Dr. Joseph Thompson 
Jonathan Norcross 
J. Henry Thompson 
Jos. Thompson, jr. 
J. Edgar Thompson 
Tim Murphy 
John Lloyd 
James Collins 
James D. Collins 
Leonard C. Simpson 
Willis Buell 
Moses Formwalt 
Win. Barnes 
James Barnes 
James M. Toy 
William Kidd 
William Rushton 
John B. Spann 
Charles Dougherty 
W. R. Venable 
Reuben Haynes 
Gus Haines 
David A. Moyer 
James Loyd, sr. 
James Loyd, jr. 
John Silvey 
A. B. Forsyth 
Wm. G. Forsyth 
Ed. Warner 
Jonas S. Smith 
Allen Johnson 
Terrence Doonan 
A. W. Wheat 
"Dad" Chapman 
Dan McSheffney 
Wm. McConnell 
Sol Haas 
Uel Wright 
Nat Maugham 
Robert Maugham 
Logan E. Bleckley 
Winston Woods 
E. M. Berry 
Jacob Nort 
James J. Lynch 
John Lynch 
Michael Lynch 
Patrick Lynch 
Wm. L. Hubbard 
Tom Kile 
William Kile 
William J. Ivey 
Tames Loyd 
G. W. Collier 
Joseph Barnes 
John Weaver 
Dr. Wm. Gilbert 
Dr. Sam Gilbert 



Lud Edmondson 
John Tomlinson 
Socrates Ivy 

F. A. Hilburn 
Maj. J. H. Lin 
Dr. B. F. Bomar 
Lewis Lawshe 
Er Lawshe 

Edson 

James Gullatt 
Henry Gullatt 
Dr. D. O. Heery 

G. C. Rogers 
Dr. N. L. Angier 
James Clark 
David Emanuel 
Levy Morris 
"Painter" Smith 
John Glen 

Wm. P. Orme 
J. C. Peck 
J. B. Peck 
— ■ — Denby 
J. H. Glazner 
John Mecaslin 
John H. Flynn 
J. L. McLondon 
Dr. R. J. Massey 
James E. Williams 
George Shaw 
A. Shaw 
William Shaw 
George Shaw, jr. 
Sam Shaw 
James B. Shaw 
Evan P. Howell 
Clark Howell, sr. 
Albert Howell 

A. K. Seago 
E. M. Seago 

B. F. Abbott 
W. L. Abbott 
Lewis Abbott 
Isaac Bartlett 
J. L. Calhoun 
W. H. Dabney 
L J. Gartrell 
J. H. Lovejoy 
Burt Lovejoy 
L. J. Glenn 
William Glenn 
William Roche 
Dr. E. J. Roach 
Rev. J. S. Wilson 
Jared I. Whitaker 
J. H. Logan 

V. A. Gaskill 
J. A. Ramsey 



D. R. Daniel 
Daniel Daniel 

Daniel 

V. P. Sisson 
J. I. Miller 

B. F. Bennett 
Whit Anderson 
Robert Anderson 
Mace Hagle 

O. Houston 
W. J. Houston 
W. R. Horton 
W. Houghton 
W. H. Royal 
J. B. Clapp 
Joel Yarborough 
Richard Peters 
Wm. G. Peters 
John Maclin 
Rev. Isaac Craven 
Horace Mitchell 
Dr. D. C. O'Keefe 
Joseph Wylie 
Dr. U. P. Harden 
John Tomlinson 
W. H. Thurmond 
Dr. Thurmond 
Dr. Gibb 
Dr. Hilburn 
Jere Trout 
W. H. Davis 
J. C. Davis 
William Kelsey 
James T. Doane 
Thomas Hainev 
W. W. Roark ' 

C. G. Rogers 
Ed. Parsons 
— —Peacock 
O. O. Pease 
David Peal 

E. Hunnicutt 

C. W. Hunnicutt 
Thomas C. Lewis 
Thomas M. Clark 

F. Krog 

G. B. Pilgrim 
Isaac B. Pilgrim 
Wm. R. Hanleiter 
J. F. Boyd 

Dr. B. O. Jones 

O. H. Jones 

C. D. Parr 

L. J. Parr 

T. R. Ripley 

Dr. J. F. Alexander 

Frank Grubb 

Eli Hulsey 



The Early Fifties 



113 



I. O. McDaniel 
P. E. McDaniel 
R. F. Maddox 
James McPherson 
Robt. W. Williamson 
A. W. Wallace 
J. R. Wallace 
Z. A. Rice 
— — Rice 
Frank P. Rice 
Wm. Markham 
M. O. Markham 
M. A. Berry 
Thomas Healey 
T . Ilenlv Smith 
C. W. Strong 

A. W. Jones 
Dr. J. P. Logan 
"Cooter" Clark 
G. N. Lester 

B. F. Williford 
Mat Lester 

J. W. Ellison 
Thomas S. Ellison 
Dr. F. J. Martin 
Dr. G. G. Smith 
John H. Smith 
G. G. Smith 
William Rhodes 
Charles Rhodes 
Jake Irnell 
H. Muhlenbrink 
A. Kontz 
F. J. Kicklighter 

F. R. Richardson 

G. B. Haygood 
Atticus Haygood 
William A. Haygood 
Fred Williams 

W. L. D. Mobley 
H. Cozar 1 : 
James McPherson 
H. C. Holcomb 
"Pink" Calhoun 
A. C. Pulliam 
G B. Dodd 
Phil Dodd 
Gaines Chisholm 

Buchanan 

Jack Buchanan 
Wm. Ezzard 
Wm. Ezzard, jr. 
John Ezzard 
Burt Lovejoy 
W. R. Dimmick 

Nix 

Gustavus Orr 

8-1 



Myron Bartlett 
Sam Elain 
B. H. Overby 
J. F. Mims 
Simeon Frakfort 
P. J. Immet 
Sam Downs 
William Downs 
Jos. H. Mead 
Tim Mead 
"Beau" Berry 
A. W. Hammond 
N. J. Hammond 
J. W. Underwood 
Reuben Cone 
J. S. Peterson 
Dr. Wm. Moore 
John H. James 
William Kay 
William Buck 
J. W. Rucker 
J. H. Westmoreland 

E. R. Mills 

H. Westmoreland 
J. G. W. Mills 
J. L. Dunning 
Volney Dunning 
James Dunning 
R. Williamson 
Joseph Winship 
Robert Winship 
Ezra Andrews 

Miller 

R. S. Baker 
"Monkey" Baker 
Charles Heir.tz 
A. Leyden 
W. C. Parker 
W. H. Edson 
John Bridwell 
Zion Bridwell 
John L. Harris 
W. H. Ruggles 
Ben Harris 
A. G. Ware 
A. M. Eddleman 

F. M. Eddleman 
John Eddleman 
Y. S. Daniel 
Col. Tcm Low 

A. S. Talley 
S. C. Wells 
Harry Krous 

Tom Shivers 
Tom Sheridan 
John M. Weaver 

B. H. Williford 
Jos. Gatins 



John Gatins 

Dr. A. DAlvigny 

Dr. W. T. Campbell 

John A. Doane 

W. Baggerly 

T. L. Thomas 

Johnson 

Rev. H. McDonald 
Rev. R. Reneau 
Jesse Reneau 
Alex Beach 
Wm. M. Cutchin 
W. L. Ormond 
A. E. McNaught 
Dr. S. Biggers 
Willis Biggers 
Caleb B. Whaley 
Dr. W. B. Jones 
Col. E. R. Jones 
J. S. Richards 
W. R. Richards 
J. R. Richards 
George Terry 
George Terry, jr. 
James Terry 
Peter Hugle 
Dr. Woodbury 
Willis Carlisle 
Pat Hodge 
Edward Payne 
C. M. Payne 
Stephen Daniel 
Stephen Daniel, jr. 
Thomas Lowe 
T. V. W. Crussell 
Peter Olrich 
George Jenkins 
John Ismis 
Dr. J. A. Taylor 

Dr. Bradford 

Willis Chisholm 
John Center 
George Center 
Anthony Murphy 
Wm. Whittaker 
P. M. Sutton 
Frank Grubb 
Isaac Mitchell 
R. W. Williamson 
Willis Peck 
Alfred Austell 
L. P. Grant 
E. E. Raw son 
Dr. F. Jeter Martin 
W. P. Orme 
E. W Holland 
Uel Wright 



CHAPTER XI 

UNINTERRUPTED DEVELOPMENT 

Atlanta was now populous and important enough commer- 
cially to be classed as one of the leading cities of Georgia. The 
census of 1854 showed 6,025 souls. Building had progressed 
wonderfully for two or three years, and the little city could boast 
of a number of quite pretentious brick blocks. Lewis J. Pace, the 
Wallaces and the Howells had erected a three-story building at 
the corner of Alabama and Whitehall streets, which was regarded 
as the "skyscraper" of that day. The top floor was occupied by 
Pace's Hall, which was esteemed locally as a first-class opera 
house. Here the well known theatrical manager and actor, W. 
H. Crisp, the father of the late Speaker Crisp, of the United 
States house of representatives, had a family troupe of actors. 
The Crisp attraction was popular and drew for a long time. For 
a number of years after its construction Pace's Hall was the scene 
of some exciting political assemblies and conventions. The 
memorable campaign between the "Tugaloo Democrats" and the 
"Fire-eaters" saw many wild scenes enacted here, and it was in 
this hall that the two factions were harmonized and one electoral 
ticket agreed on in 1852. Before the erection of Pace's Hall, all 
public meetings and entertainments had been held in the hall over 
John Keely's store at the corner of Whitehall and Hunter streets. 
The gatherings too large to be accommodated there were held in 
one or the other of the large cotton warehouses. The shows that 
came to Atlanta before the war were "a caution." In those days, 
however, the circus flourished, if not the double and triple-ring 
affair of modern progress, and the amusement-loving crowds 
turned out to see Dan Rice and other sawdust artists of renown. 

The south side of the railroad tracks was now far ahead of 
the north side on which the first settlements were made. Busi- 

114 



Uninterrupted Development 115 

ness largely centered on Whitehall and Alabama streets, with 
Broad street, as now, the market district. Speaking of the pro- 
gress of the early fifties, Dr. Smith says : "Slabtown, as Decatur 
street was called, was now being covered with frame houses. 
Whitehall was being built up with stores of brick, and gradually 
the residences were creeping up Peachtree street, and the board 
shanties which had lined it beyond Houston were being replaced 
by better buildings. Pryor street was being built up with resi- 
dences from the railway to Garnett street, and the woods which 
crowned the hill on which the capitol stands and stretched to the 
east were being dotted with small, cheap houses. Richard Peters 
had a large lot for his stage horses about where the Atlanta Jour- 
nal office now stands. Captain K'idd had built the Alhambra, the 
famous drinking- room of the railroad men, near where the Cen- 
tennial building was on Whitehall street. Between the railroad 
east of Whitehall and north of Alabama streets was the Macon 
and Western depot and Ragis's butcher shop, the rest of the 
ground being unoccupied, except by the calaboose, until E. W. 
Holland came from Villa Rica and bought the corner of Alabama 
and Whitehall streets and erected thereon the large hotel known 
as the Holland House. After the removal of the Georgia Rail- 
road shops, which were on the corner of Loyd and Alabama, there 
was, if I remember correctly, no buildings at all. There were no 
stores off Whitehall, beyond Mitchell, but the space between 
Mitchell and Alabama was pretty well filled with inferior frame 
buildings, generally but one story and very small. These were 
giving away, and Allen E. Johnson erected the Johnson House 
beyond Hunter street. Jonathan Norcross continued to have the 
only establishment of much note on the east side. The laying of 
the first brick pavements on Whitehall street was an event. The 
lot of land belonging to Reuben Cone across the Central railroad, 
near Collins's store, was laid off in lots and sold, and was now 
being rapidly built up, and the building was steadily advancing 
up Marietta street." 

In 1854 there were, according to a local "boom" pamphlet, 
sixty stores in the various mercantile lines, doing a business that 
amounted to a million and a half dollars every year. In this year 
the long projected city hall was begun. It was a large and rather 



1 1 6 Atlanta And Its Builders 

ornate structure, 70x100 feet in dimensions, two stories high. 
The following year it was completed, at a cost to the city of fully 
$30,000. About the same time the old Athenaeum was built by 
James E. Williams. The latter building was famous throughout 
the ante-bellum South for its amusements and concerts. In 1854 
two very important building events of a religious character oc- 
curred. The preceding year Green B. Haygood, a prominent 
lawyer, and Willis F. Peck organized a Sunday school on the 
McDonough street lot owned by the Haygood family. Since the 
city had grown to such proportions, the distance to Wesley Chapel 
was too great for many of the south side Methodists, and they 
were seriously considering the erection of a second church of that 
denomination. This Sunday school proved the nucleus of the 
proposed church, which was erected without delay. A building- 
committee consisting of Green B. Haygood, chairman, Joseph 
Winship, Edwin Payne and Dr. George Smith, purchased an eli- 
gible lot on the court house square, and Trinity Methodist Epis- 
copal church was dedicated with imposing ceremonies in Septem- 
ber, 1854, by Bishop Andrew. Rev. J. P. Duncan preached the 
first sermon in the handsome new church. The Baptists of the 
south side experienced the same inconvenience in the matter of 
church going and in consequence organized an independent church 
known as the Second Baptist church. In a very short time they 
had raised a sufficient sum to begin the erection of a church in 
1854, and when completed the structure represented an investment 
of $13,000. 

The municipal events of 1854 are interesting. William M. 
Butt was elected mayor, and the council that served with him was 
composed of Jared I. Whitaker, W. B. Ruggles, L. C. Simpson, 
W. W. Baldwin, Paschal House, John Farrar, John Glenn, J. B. 
Peck, J. K. Swift and J. S. Oliver. It will be observed that the 
growth of the city had resulted by this time in quite an increase 
in the membership of the council. The council of 1854 elected 
the other officers as follows : Clerk, Henry C. Holcombe ; mar- 
shal, Benjamin N. Williford; deputy marshal, E. T. Hunnicutt; 
treasurer, Oswald Houston ; sexton, G. A. Pilgrim ; clerk of the 
city market, I. F. Trout; surveyor, H. L. Currier. The matter of 
salary and bond was arranged so that the clerk received two and 



Uninterrupted Development 117 

one-half per cent, on all moneys received and disbursed, with a 
bond of $15,000; marshal's salary $500 and fees, with a bond of 
$3,000; deputy marshal's salary and bond same as marshal's; 
salary of treasurer, one per cent, on all moneys received and dis- 
bursed, with a bond of $15,000; salary of sexton, $300; of sur- 
veyor, $300. 

On February 3d, 1854, the number of night police was in- 
creased to six. A thousand dollar bond was required of the chief, 
and it was made a part of his duty to cry with a loud voice from 
the council hall every hour of the night after nine o'clock, to which 
cry each of his brother policemen was required to respond, like- 
wise in a loud voice. This was a picturesque, if not practical, 
part of Atlanta's early police regulations. James A. Mullin was 
elected chief of the night force. 

On the 3d of March the progressive proposition to light the 
city with coal gas was presented to the council. A committee ap- 
pointed to investigate the feasibility of lighting the city with gas 
reported that nearly all of the citizens of Atlanta were anx- 
ious that a gas works should be established in the city, but ven- 
tured the opinion that it would be impossible, at that time, to 
raise the considerable sum necessary for carrying out the enter- 
prise, by popular subscription, and that the finances of the city 
were at such low ebb that it was inexpedient that the council make 
the subscription for the purpose. A communication from Messrs. 
Perdieu & Hoyt, of Trenton, offering to undertake to put in a gas 
plant, under certain conditions, was discussed at the same time. 
The gas lighting matter made no further progress in this council. 

On March 3d the city surveyor, H. L. Currier, reported to the 
council that he had surveyed the city in accordance with the recent 
act of the legislature extending the city limits, and a plan of his 
survey was submitted to that body. The act of the legislature un- 
der which the new survey was made was passed on the 20th of 
February, 1854, its 9th section reading: "And be it further enact- 
ed that the corporate limits of the city of Atlanta shall extend so 
as to embrace the territory lying within the following boundaries, 
to wit : Commencing on a point on the corporate line one-fourth 
of a mile from the Macon and Western railroad, and on the south 
side of said road, and running in a westerly direction parallel with 



n8 Atlanta And Its Builders 

said road five hundred yards; thence one-half mile in a northerly- 
direction running concentric with the present corporate line; 
thence in an easterly direction to the corporate line, and thence to 
the beginning along said line." 

As there had been a good deal of talk about removing the 
state capital from Milledgeville to Atlanta, and some prominent 
citizens were pressing council to undertake to exert influence in 
that direction, the session of March 3d appointed what it called a 
prudential committee composed of Messrs. Whitaker, Ruggles and 
Peck, to receive the memorial presented by these citizens and make 
whatever recommendations it might see fit looking to the further- 
ing of the great project. At a session held on the 23d of the same 
month, the prudential committee recommended the appointment 
of a special committee to urge upon the people of Georgia the 
propriety of the removal of the capital of the state from Milledge- 
ville to Atlanta, and this committee, when appointed, was request- 
ed to exert all honorable means within its power to secure the end 
in view. The following gentlemen were appointed to act on this 
special capital committee : John F. Mins, John Collier, Allison 
Nelson, A. G. Ulare and Green B. Haygood. What preliminary 
steps might be found necessary for prosecuting an effective capital 
removal campaign was left entirely to the discretion of the com- 
mittee. On the 2d of the following June this committee was 
enlarged by the addition of W. B. Spofford, J. M. Spullock, L. J. 
Gartrell, L. P. Grant, J. A. Hayden, William Markham, I. O. 
McDaniel. J. M. Calhoun, R. I.' Cowart, B. H. Overby, T. B. 
Lanier, and many other leading citizens. 

The Atlanta Medical College had been organized the 
previous year and the officers of the struggling institution peti- 
tioned the mayor and council for the use of the city hall for the 
purpose of giving lectures in the regular instructive course. On 
the 30th of June the council appointed a committee to consider the 
petition and report on the advisability of its acceptance. The 
committee, at the next meeting, handed in an adverse report. A 
minority report was handed in, however, and the question was 
brought to a vote by the council, resulting in the petition being 
granted, the casting vote of the mayor deciding the matter. 

The water problem, like that of street lighting, was beginning 
to be a public question of the first magnitude. The crude rain- 



Uninterrupted Development 119 

water reservoirs at several street corners were far from adequate 
to meet the requirements of the situation, and there was a 
strong sentiment in favor of digging an artesian well in the heart 
of the city. The artesian well craze had just begun in America at 
that time, and reports of the success of other cities in this respect 
made Atlanta feel like trying her hand at boring. The proposi- 
tion to dig an artesian well was introduced in council and dis- 
cussed with much interest on July 28th, with the result that a 
special committee consisting of Messrs. Simpson, Whitaker and 
Glenn was appointed to investigate the practicability of the 
project. 

The lighting question was again revived by the appearance of 
Mr. C. Monteith, of Columbus, Ga., before council, on August 
25th. The gentleman had been interested in the establishment of 
the gas works of that city and was considered quite an authority 
on municipal gas. He discussed the subject at considerable 
length and was asked a number of questions by members of the 
council. He gave it as his opinion that a gas plant sufficient to 
supply the city of Atlanta would require an expenditure of 
$32,000. The gas works of Columbus, said he, cost that amount 
originally, and they had proved financially profitable to the city, 
paying at that time a dividend of twelve per cent. 

On the 22d of September a communication from Drs. James 
F. Alexander, W. F. Westmoreland and J. G. Westmoreland was 
read before the council, stating that it was their intention to open 
a first-class medical infirmary or sanitarium in or near the city for 
the treatment of all kinds of maladies and accidents, and that they 
proposed to erect buildings of suitable character for the purpose. 
The promoters offered to board all persons whom the mayor and 
council might see fit to send to the infirmary for one dollar per day, 
the city to pay what it thought proper for such medical treatment 
as the patients sent to the institution by the order of the city re- 
ceived. The council issued the permit to erect the infirmary, as 
requested. 

Atlanta, while reaching out for capital honors, was not back- 
ward in absorbing smaller things. Her influence had been suc- 
cessful in having a new county carved off the west side of DeKalb 
county, in order that Atlanta might be made a county seat, and we 



120 Atlanta And Its Builders 

find, in the council records of 1854, an appropriation made by 
council on January 16th, giving Clarke Howell $110.75 "f° r ms 
services and expenses in the interest of the new county of Fulton." 

Many pushing, solid citizens were steadily being added to 
Atlanta's rapidly increasing population. At this time, or shortly 
before. Green T. Dodd cast his fortune here, and then such 
men as Daniel Pittman, L. J. Gartrell, L. J. Glenn, A. J. McBride, 
W. A. Fuller, Dr. J. P. Logan, Thomas M. Clarke, Mr. Gilbert, 
his partner, and M. Cole, the large nurseryman. 

Atlanta was by this time comparatively free from the law- 
lessness of a year or two before. Its police regulations were very 
stringent and gambling no longer flourished openly in Murrell's 
Row. Many of the "dead game sports" had drifted to more con- 
genial fields, and the others kept discreetly in the background. 
The saloons were beginning to be regulated by ordinances that 
showed a hostile tendency to the liquor traffic, and licenses grew 
higher and higher. Old Jonathan Norcross had become an out- 
and-out Prohibitionist and purchased the Republican, a short- 
lived newspaper that had been founded in the city by a Northern 
man, and revived it as a Prohibitionist organ. It was soon the 
organ of the Know Nothings. 

The people of Atlanta were working in enthusiastic unison 
for several great projects, and public meetings to further these 
movements were of frequent occurrence. The air was full of 
new railroad rumors, and if all the projected roads had material- 
ized, Atlanta would have presented on the map the appearance of 
a thousand-legged spider. One of the proposed railroads did 
materialize in a short time in the Atlanta and Charlotte Air-Line. 
To say the citizens believed in the future of the city would be 
putting it mildly. Every man who held real estate was gifted with 
the most prophetic sort of an imagination and lost no opportunity 
to express his great faith in Atlanta's future. While there was 
no organization designed to further all public enterprises, such as 
a board of trade or chamber of commerce, the progressive element 
of the city worked together with wonderful zeal and unanimity, 
and the city council took upon itself some of the functions of the 
lacking organization. An aggressive capital removal campaign 
had been inaugurated over the state by Atlanta, and the ambitions 



Uninterrupted Development 121 

of the young city as a great commercial distributing center were 
published far and near. Atlanta, at least, knew how to advertise 
herself, and the whole state began to talk about her. This ag- 
gressive policy of publicity, which Atlanta has never relaxed, bore 
abundant fruit in material progress. Trade and population mul- 
tiplied. The place was a surprise to the South. It had about it 
the restless energy and bustle of a Yankee town. 

As this chapter is devoted almost entirely to the year 1854, it 
will fittingly be closed with an allusion to the visit of President 
Millard Fillmore to Atlanta, which occurred in that year. Of 
this visit of the country's chief executive, L. L. Parham says in 
one of his newspaper reminiscences : 

"President Millard Fillmore's visit to Atlanta in 1854 was a 
notable event, and one which illustrates as nothing else could the 
hospitable spirit of old Atlanta. Mr. Fillmore came from Au- 
gusta to this city, and was received at the 'carshed' by the whole 
town with great enthusiasm. Every locomotive in town gave 
forth in unison a welcome which in noise at least was unmistak- 
able. A committee escorted the distinguished guest to a hotel, 
where a brief but glorious reception was held. In the evening a 
general reception was held, to which the public en masse flocked, 
and certainly Mr. Fillmore was flattered. The ladies were out in 
full force with their best clothes on and their sweetest smiles — at 
least it is said some of the fair ones were never so charming as on 
that occasion, since it was known by all that the president was a 
widower. Added to the position he had adorned as chief execu- 
tive of the United States, he was of fine personal appearance, 
being a large figure and possessed of an open, pleasing counte- 
nance and warm heart. At a banquet held in his honor those who 
had the pleasure of attending became deeply impressed with their 
guest's genial manner, suavitor in inodo, and ready repartee. 
When a gentleman noted for a fine voice and willing compliance 
when requested to sing, was asked to favor the banqueters with a 
song, he did so with such impressiveness that at its conclusion Mr. 
Fillmore arose and grasped the gentleman by the hand, and with a 
voice choked with emotion, thanked him and all Atlanta for their 
exceeding hospitality, which he declared had never been surpassed, 
if equaled." 



CHAPTER XII 

SOME ANCIENT MUNICIPAL HISTORY 

In the municipal election held January 15th, 1855, national 
politics became badly mixed with local issues. It was at the 
height of the Know Nothing agitation, and that party had a 
large and very active following in Atlanta. When the time came 
to nominate a city ticket, the party feeling ran so high that two 
factions, representing the two great parties, strove for the control 
of the local government. Allison Nelson was put forward by the 
Democrats as their candidate for mayor, and Ira O. McDaniel as 
the candidate of the Know Nothings. The Democrats won by a 
very close vote, and the other side raised the cry of fraud. The 
ballot as given by the official count was : Nelson, 425 ; McDaniel, 
415. For members of the council. First ward, W. W. Baldwin, 
429; U. L. Wright, 417; B. O. Jones, 416; E. Andrews, 398. 
Second ward, T. M. Darnall, 424; C. H. Strong, 415; L. C. 
Simpson, 402 ; J. L. Dunning, 370. Third ward, John Farrar, 
439; J. W. Thompson, 430; A. W. Owen, 398; R. Crawford, 387. 
Fourth ward, William Barnes, 449; John Glenn, 441; Samuel 
Dean, 401 ; G. W. Adair, 381. Fifth ward, Thomas Kile, 425; 
C. Powell, 425; W. R. Venable, 419; J. W. Manning, 396. 

No little excitement followed the announcement of the result. 
The defeated candidates got together and passed resolutions 
charging the corruption of the ballot by the Democrats, and I. O. 
McDaniel, B. O. Jones, E. Andrews, A. W. Owen, L. C. Simpson, 
S. Dean, R. Crawford, G. W. Adair, J. W. Manning and W. R. 
Venable addressed a petition to the successful candidate for 
mayor, Allison Nelson, in which it was asserted that they had 
been defeated by fraud. They said that they could prove that 
frauds of the grossest character had been committed at the polls, 
and that these frauds were chargeable to the democratic man- 




C. H. Strom 



124 Atlanta And Its Builders 

agers of the election. They charged that non-residents, aliens and 
others who had no right of suffrage in Atlanta had deposited their 
ballots without question, and if such fraudulent ballots were 
thrown out the result of the election would be found to be in the 
interest of the American party candidates. They offered to 
prove the truth of their charges, if given an opportunity to do so 
by the new administration. They declared that nobody should be 
allowed to hold office by fraud, and therefore requested the mayor- 
elect to appoint a day within the current month upon which a 
thorough investigation might be held, or, if he preferred, they 
asked that he submit the question over again to the voters of 
Atlanta. 

The successful candidates received the communication from 
their late rivals with derision. They replied to it, however, refer- 
ring to it as "an extraordinary note." Their reply was in part 
as follows : 

We find this document signed by those who comprised the 
ticket of the American or Know Nothing Part}-, with the impor- 
tant exception of Mr. C. H. Strong, who was the only one on that 
ticket who was elected. If you could do what you propose, estab- 
lish fraud, etc., in the election, why did you not prove it before 
the managers of the election, when the election was in progress? 
It certainly was not owing to your want of vigilance, for you had 
sufficient challengers at their posts all through the day, and if you 
failed to convince the managers then of the illegalitv of the votes, 
it is but reasonable to suppose that a new attempt would likewise 
fail. It would also be the cause of an excitement which could be 
but suicidal to the interests of the city, or at least to its peace and 
quiet, etc. 

The respondents then attempted to put the shoe on the other 
foot by boldly charging that the only frauds committed in Atlanta 
on election day were committed by the Know Nothings them- 
selves, which they declared they stood prepared to prove. The 
rejoinder closed with the following wormwood and gall : 

"Gentlemen, time and reflection will soothe your feelings and 
teach you the important lesson of resignation to the will of the 
people. We are, respectfully yours, A. Nelson, AY. W. Baldwin, 
W. Barnes. U. K. Wright. Thomas Kile, C. Powell, T. M. Dar- 
nall, J. W. Thompson, J. Farrar." 



Some Ancient Municipal History 125 

In February the question of again assisting a fair association 
came up in council. It seems that the first fair association had 
fallen through, despite its liberal treatment at the hands of At- 
lanta. The new association was called the "South Central Agri- 
cultural Association," and it asked for a bonus to hold its fairs in 
Atlanta. A special committee was appointed to investigate the 
subject, and in a few days it made a report favoring the request of 
the fair people, saying that all property holders in Atlanta would 
be benefited by the holding of the fairs of the association in the 
city, but knowing that large amounts of property were held by 
non-residents who would not subscribe, and that, therefore, sub- 
scriptions would have to come from a minority of those who 
would be benefited, it was resolved that an amount not to exceed 
$5,000 be appropriated for the purpose of purchasing sufficient 
ground in addition to the present fair grounds, putting the same 
under the control of the executive committee of the Southern 
Central Fair Association, provided that said committee would 
enter into an obligation to locate the said fair permanently in 
Atlanta, so long as the said association shall exist, after which the 
grounds and improvements should revert to the mayor and coun- 
cil of Atlanta. There was considerable discussion and quite de- 
cided opposition, but council finally appropriated $4,000 for the 
purpose, and purchased five acres of land to be set apart for the 
use of the association so long as it complied with its part of the 
contract. 

Council now tackled the gas proposition in earnest. William 
Helme, a gas works expert and promoter from Philadelphia, came 
to Atlanta early in the spring of 1855, and at several successive 
meetings of the city council he explained his gas proposition and 
urged its acceptance. A committee was appointed to finally con- 
sider the proposition. On the 23d of March this committee re- 
ported that it had thoroughly canvassed the situation, getting the 
opinions of many business men and leading citizens and carefully 
going over the whole question with Mr. Helme. The report said 
that the citizens were practically unanimous for the construction 
of a gas plant. Council thereupon appointed two special commit- 
tees, one to confer further with the citizens, and one to confer with 
Mr. Helme. The former committee was composed of Messrs. 



126 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Thompson, Clark and Kile, and the latter of Messrs. Darnall, 
Powell and Barnes. The committee delegated to confer with 
Mr. Helme was instructed to report such contract as they might 
agree upon to the council for its ratification or rejection. 

The proposition of William Helme was in substance as fol- 
lows : "To erect coal gas works, to lay down pipes in the streets, 
alleys, etc., of the city of Atlanta, for lighting the same, and the 
public and private buildings therein, under a contract securing to 
him, among other things, the exclusive privilege of so lighting 
the same for a period of fifty years. The gas works were to be 
of sufficient capacity to manufacture 20,000 cubic feet of gas every 
twenty-four hours. The council was to erect at least fifty street 
lamps, and to pay for lighting the same thirty dollars each per 
annum. The property of the gas company was to be free from 
taxation. The entire cost of the gas plant was estimated at $50,- 
000, and the city was required to take $20,000 of the gas com- 
pany's stock, paying - for the same in bonds bearing seven per cent, 
interest." The foregoing provisions were embodied in an ordi- 
nance which was passed with practically no opposition, the mayor 
being empowered to close the contract with Mr. Helme in ac- 
cordance therewith. The bonds were of the denomination of 
$500, payable fifteen years after date, and bore interest at the rate 
of seven per cent, per annum. Soon after the completion of this 
contract between the mayor and Air. Helme, a contract was en- 
tered into with John S. and Joshua Schofield to make and deliver 
to the city fifty ornamental lamp posts, including lamps and 
burners, for twenty-one dollars each, all to be delivered on or be- 
fore October 1st, 1855. In accordance with the terms of the con- 
tract, Mr. Helme, on January 28, 1856, transferred to the mayor 
and council $20,000 in stock of the gas company, which in the 
meantime had been incorporated, for $20,000 in city bonds, and 
himself gave bond for the completion of the work. 

An incident of the municipal history of 1855 which attracted 
no little interest among the citizens was the resignation of the 
mayor. The reason for this action was because council reversed 
one of his honor's decisions while sitting as police judge. It 
seems that on the night of July 6th two young men of the city 
were taken before Mayor Nelson charged with disturbing the 



Sonic Ancient Municipal History 127 

peace, quarreling and using profane language in the streets. A 
number of witnesses on both sides testified to the commission of 
the misdemeanor, and it was proven that one of the defendants 
had disfigured a sign. By the provisions of the seventh section 
of the ordinance for preserving the peace, "any person who is 
guilty of disturbing the peace by using obscene, vulgar or profane 
language, or who is guilty of malicious mischief, or of otherwise 
conducting himself in a disorderly manner, is liable to a fine of 
not over fifty dollars and costs." Upon the young man who had 
been proven guilty of mutilating the sign, Mayor Nelson imposed 
a fine of $20, and upon one of his companions, $20. An appeal 
was taken in both cases, and the defendant accused of disfiguring 
the sign had his fine remitted by the council, and the fine of the 
other young man was reduced to $5. Thereupon the mayor re- 
signed, averring with some warmth that it was useless for him to 
endeavor to discharge his duties according to the requirements of 
the statutes and the dictates of his conscience, while acting as a 
trial judge, so long as the city council would not sustain him in 
his efforts. 

The Atlanta Medical College, which had been launched as a 
doubtful enterprise in the spring of 1855, received a gratifying 
number of students, and laid the corner stone of a handsome 
building in July of that year. Its lecture course, held in the city 
hall by permission of the council, was largely attended. The work 
on the gas works progressed with great energy, and on the 25th 
of December, 1855, the city of Atlanta was for the first time light- 
ed with gas. It was a memorable Christmas day in the young 
city, for that reason, and celebrated accordingly. The new city 
hall was completed and formally accepted by the city council about 
the same time. 

In the municipal election of 1856 the successful candidates 
were : Mayor, John Glenn ; councilmen, Messrs. Thompson, 
Barnes, Clarke, Kile, Strong and Wilson. The clerk of this 
council was Henry C.Holcombe; marshal, B. N. Willi ford; deputy 
marshal, E. T. Hunnicutt. For the first time it was decided to 
elect a city printer, and on January 26th a resolution to that effect 
was passed by council, calling for bids from the various printing 
establishments of the city. The Atlanta Republican and Disci- 



128 Atlanta And Its Builders 

pline was chosen as the official organ of the city, the terms of pub- 
lication of city advertisements being fifty cents per thousand ems 
for the regular proceedings, and fifty cents per square of ten lines 
for all other advertisements. 

The population of Atlanta in 1856 was given at 8,000 by a 
local census, and there were said to be seventy-five business places 
of all kinds in the city. The streets of the city were considerably 
improved in the matter of grading and cleanliness, and consider- 
able paving had been done. Along most of the streets in the 
business quarter brick sidewalks had been laid. Buildings con- 
tinued to go up at a lively rate and many of those erected were of 
a substantial and expensive character. Xew enterprises were 
being established continually. In 1856 the Bank of Fulton was 
established by Alfred Austell and E. W. Holland, with a capital 
of $125,000. P. and G. T. Dodd established the first wholesale 
grocery and Silvey & Dougherty a large mercantile establishment, 
in that year. In 1856 also L. Bellingrath, A. Bellingrath and 
William R. Hill located in Atlanta. J. M. Holbrook established 
a large exclusive hat store the same year. 

It was in August of this year, during the Fillmore campaign, 
that the famous accident connected with raising a pole in honor 
of that presidential candidate, occurred. The Whigs were 
largely in the majority in Atlanta, and in their enthusiasm they 
had three tall pine trees cut down and hauled to town, which they 
spliced together, making a flag pole of extraordinary height. The 
raising of the pole was made the occasion of a grand party rally, 
and when the appointed day came, the Whigs from many miles 
on all sides of Atlanta flocked to the speaking and pole raising, 
which was to take place upon a vacant lot in front of the ground 
now occupied by the Markham House. By bungling or careless- 
ness, the rope for carrying the flag became badly tangled with the 
guy-ropes near the top, after the pole was erected, and in conse- 
quence the flag could not be hauled up. The great crowd was 
disappointed. The Democrats and Know Nothings hooted and 
jeered at the unsuccessful attempt of the Whigs to straighten out 
the ropes. Just as the committee having the affair in charge de- 
cided to take the pole down, a man who had long followed the sea 
stepped forward and volunteered to climb the pole and untangle 



Some Ancient Municipal History 129 

the ropes. The offer was accepted with cheers, and in a moment 
the sailor was raising himself above the heads of the multitude 
with apparent ease. When he reached the place where the tan- 
gle began, he took out his pocket knife and began to cut the guy- 
rope loose from the draw-cord. Suddenly, while thousands of 
eyes were strained upwards and hundreds held their breath with 
the excitement of the man's perilous position, the knife was seen 
to fly out of his hand, and the next instant, with a cry of horrified 
despair, the sailor went hurtling through the air to the ground, 
where he was dashed to instant death. The thrilling spectacle 
held the great crowd as if spellbound for an instant, and then, 
almost as one man, by a common impulse, the people declared 
their intention to raise a purse for the unfortunate seaman's 
widow or family before they left the ground. A collection com- 
mittee was chosen at once, and in a remarkably short time the 
snug sum of $2,000 had been contributed. 

During the year 1856 the "Kansas Question," as the "Free- 
soil" agitation in the Jayhawker state was called in the South, 
was at its height, and no city in Georgia took a livelier interest 
in the momentous struggle of the two elements for supremacy 
than Atlanta. At that time parties of Southern emigrants were 
continually passing through Atlanta for the "bleeding" territory, 
intent on turning the political scale in favor of slavery, or on tak- 
ing a hand in the "subsequent unpleasantness." Large crowds 
would meet these Kansas emigrants at the depot to cheer them 
on, and often to contribute to their necessities. The Kansas 
question was paramount. The territory, about to be admitted 
to the union, would hold the balance of power between the pro- 
slavery and anti-slavery states, and it was highly essential on the 
South's part to "redeem" enough Kansas counties to turn the bal- 
ance in the election in a way to please the South. Boisterous 
Kansas meetings, addressed by fervid, not to say fire-eating, ora- 
tors, were of almost nightly occurrence in Atlanta during that 
summer. In March a company was organized in the city to 
make the journey to the troubled territory, and before setting 
out, at a great public gathering held in the court house on March 
5th, the following resolutions were adopted : 

"Whereas, the admission of Kansas territory into the union 
as a free state would destroy the balance of power between the 

9-1 



130 Atlanta And Its Builders 

several states which are already in an excited condition of aggra- 
vated discussion, from which the destruction of the constitution, 
the subversion of the government, and all the horrors of civil war 
are likely to ensue; and, 

"Whereas, the safety of our Southern institutions, and the 
peace and quiet of all truly patriotic, liberty-loving and law-abid- 
ing citizens are endangered, and, in our opinion, doomed to suf- 
fer materially or be totally destroyed by the intermeddling and 
aggressive policy of abolition fanatics ; and 

"Whereas, The geographical situation and the adaptation 
of its soil to Southern institutions and products combine to make 
it a state in which slave labor can be profitably and beneficially 
employed by all the citizens of the South ; and, 

"Whereas, The first settlers and original pioneers of that 
territory were slaveholders, and so declared themselves immedi- 
ately after the organization of the territory ; be it therefore 

"Resolved, 1. That each member of this company will law- 
fully exert himself to the utmost to secure the admission of Kan- 
sas territory into the union as a slave state. 

"Resolved, 2. That individually and as a company of true, 
patriotic men who have the safety, the honor of our country, and 
her institutions at heart, we will do all that we can do to prevent 
the admission of said territory into the union as a free state, a re- 
sult to be greatly deplored by all the good and true, especially by 
all genuine Southern men. 

"Resolved, 3. That as the geographical situation and soil 
of said territory are naturally and peculiarly adapted to slave 
labor. Southern institutions and products, it does by right and 
every principle of justice, belong to the South, and the South 
alone, and that we will resist, at all hazards, any unlawful at- 
tempt to make it a free state. 

"Resolved, 4. That we highly commend and approve the 
brave sons of Missouri for the gallant stand and unflinching cour- 
age which they have taken and evinced in defending Southern 
rights ; and we now declare our firm and unalterable intention to 
stand by her side in aiding the people of Kansas territory in en- 
forcing their laws and in the maintenance of the laws and consti- 
tution of the United States." 



Some Ancient Municipal History 131 

The local newspapers devoted a good deal of editorial and 
news space to the question of colonizing' Kansas with Southerners, 
and every few days would chronicle the passing of a Kansas- 
bound party through the city. The Daily Intelligencer of March 
29, 1856, said in an editorial paragraph: 

''Judging from the number of companies passing almost daily 
through our city on their way to Kansas, we doubt not that there 
will be a 'smart sprinkling' of Southerners in that interesting re- 
gion before many weeks. On Saturday night a company of 
eighteen or twenty passed through Atlanta, and on Thursday we 
noticed another company of forty-one, all armed and equipped, 
going on their way rejoicing. They were from Charleston and 
other points in South Carolina. A company organized in this 
city is expected to leave in a few days." The company referred 
to was the one which adopted the resolutions previously quoted. 
It was called "The Atlanta Company of Emigrants for Kansas 
Territory." 

In the same paper, under date of April 4th, 1856, the follow- 
ing reference was made to the departure of the Atlanta emigrants : 
"Off" for Kansas ! Captain Jones's company of emigrants, con- 
sisting of twenty-one young and able-bodied men, left this place 
yesterday morning for Kansas. They will probably be joined 
by others at Marietta, and along the line of the railroad. Cap- 
tain Jones is a young man of pure stock and true grit, and we 
doubt not the success of himself and those under him, in the new 
territory, while the cause of the South will have in them true and 
efficient friends." 

A largely attended Kansas mass meeting was held in the 
city hall on the 4th of August, the object of which was to raise 
funds for the maintenance of Southern emigrants in Kansas who 
were in need of pecuniary help, and to help in like manner new 
parties of emigrants that would volunteer to go and "redeem" 
Kansas. It was explained at this meeting that Georgia was ex- 
pected to look after three of the thirty counties of Kansas terri- 
tory, her sister Southern states taking care of three counties each. 
The speakers were the leading politicians of the city and county, 
and the audience was worked up to a high pitch of enthusiasm by 
their eloquence. Two representatives of the Kansas State 



132 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Colonization Society, Captain B. Jones and Captain E. M. Mc- 
Ghee, were present and addressed the meeting. A. C. Pulliam 
presided, and Colonel S. G. Howell acted as secretary. The 
speakers appealed to the state pride of Georgia in behalf of citi- 
zens of the state who had located in Kansas, declaring that every 
Georgian who had cast his lot in Kansas from patriotic motives 
had nobly done his duty, despite the severest hardships and trials, 
largely resultant from a lack of sufficient money. Much stress 
was laid upon the importance to the South of bringing Kansas 
into the union as a slave state, and one speaker went so far as to 
predict that failure to do so would inevitably result in dismember- 
ing the union and probably plunge the country into civil war. 

This meeting resulted in a large committee being appointed, 
consisting of Atlantans and citizens from each township of Ful- 
ton county, whose duty it should be to solicit cash contributions 
for the Georgia colonists in Kansas, or those who should there- 
after emigrate to the disturbed territory. The names of the com- 
mittees may be of interest as a relic of the ante-bellum excitement. 
They were : 

'For Atlanta— Robert M. Clarke. J. A. Hayden. C. H. Wal- 
lace, L. H. Davis, H. Muhlenbrink, O. H. Jones, Dr. R. T. Pul- 
liam, Dr. J. A. Taylor, Colonel A. H. Stokes and Captain G. H. 
Thompson. 

For Black Hall District — Thomas Conally, Dr. J. M. Dor- 
sey, T. J. Perkerson, Meredith Brown and A. R. Almond. 

For Buckhead District — Colonel Clark Howell, Henry Irby, 
Pinckney Randall, B. Pace and M. C. Donaldson. 

For Casey's District — Hiram Emory, Xelson Defur, J. M. 
Cook, J. J. Thrasher and Dr. D'Alvigney. 

For Oak Grove District — J. L. Evins. John Isham, S. Jett, 
Lee Heflin and S. Spruel. 

For Stone's District — W. A. Green, Dr. William Gilbert, 
W. A. Wilson, Murat McGhee and Thomas Kennedy. 

Until the admission of Kansas into the union, the keenest 
interest was then taken in her attitude on the slavery question by 
the citizens of Atlanta, in common with the people of the South, 
and when the statehood bill was enacted with the anti-slavery pro- 
vision, the indignation of Atlanta knew no bounds. 



CHAPTER XIII 

ATLANTA IN THE PANIC YEAR 

The year 1857 was memorable for the great panic that 
ruined so many merchants in the larger cities of the country, 
closed most of the banking institutions, and plunged the masses 
of the people into want and distress. The panic of 1857 was 
felt the hardest in the north, but those cities of the South the basis 
of whose trade was credit, felt it severely also. Atlanta, in the 
full flush of her remarkable progress and prosperity, was little 
affected by the terrible financial stringency and business depres- 
sion that was working sad havoc with other communities. We 
will leave Wallace Putnam Reed to tell the reason : 

"The great panic of 1857, which was felt so disastrously in 
many parts of the union, especially in the northern states, was 
felt but little in Atlanta, for the reason that it was felt but little 
anywhere in the South. The main reason for this fact was that 
the cotton crop that year was exceptionally large and the price 
high, notwithstanding the large crop. The price of cotton was 
high because there was an unusual demand for it abroad, and it 
was thus controlled by the market price in Liverpool, England. 
The heavy demand for it abroad caused payments to be made in 
cash, and thus there was an abundant supply of specie in the 
Southern states, though there was very general suspension of spe- 
cie payments North. The unusually large amount of specie, 
which that year flowed into the South, rendered it practicable for 
the banks of this section to avoid suspension, and thus merchants 
were not affected by the stringency in the money market. It can- 
not be remembered that any merchant failed in Atlanta during 
that panic. 

"The above is presented as the general reason for the contin- 
ued prosperity of Atlanta during that period of distress in other 

133 



134 Atlanta And Its Builders 

parts of the country. There are, however, two other reasons for 
that uninterrupted prosperity — one of which may be termed a 
special reason, and the other a peculiar reason. The former of 
these two was, that at that time the merchants of the South, in- 
cluding, of course, those of Atlanta, owed much less than the 
usual amounts to Northern merchants, and hence were not called 
upon for the payment of debts they could not pay? The latter 
reason was that the first merchants of Atlanta, as a very general, 
if not a universal thing, were so limited in their capital that they 
could not give credit without incurring the risk of almost imme- 
diate failure. The business they did was therefore from neces- 
sity conducted on a cash basis. Being thus compelled to tran- 
sact business on a cash basis, they were also compelled to conduct 
it on the smallest practicable margin of profits in order to attract 
customers, or, in other words, they were obliged to undersell their 
competitors in neighboring towns and cities. By thus undersell- 
ing their competitors, they soon attracted to Atlanta not only the 
trade of the merchants from other towns and cities, but also very 
largely that of the majority of private families who could pay 
cash for their supplies; of private families living in surrounding 
cities as well as of those living in the surrounding country. 

"In this way was the cash basis for the transaction of busi- 
ness adopted and established in Atlanta, adopted from necessity 
and established from choice. It was so beneficial, it was so con- 
ducive to the individual interests and to the combined interests of 
the business men, it gave Atlanta such an impetus in the direction 
of prosperity, such a prestige and advantage over her rivals, that 
it has been adhered to, in the main, ever since, and has, in all prob- 
ability, been the main principle of the city's growth and success 
as a community. Even up to the present time business is con- 
ducted in Atlanta either on the "spot cash" principle, or on the 
"cash" principle, the former plan requiring cash to be paid on de- 
livery of the goods purchased, and the latter requiring it to be 
paid in thirty days. Thus long credits, always dangerous, have 
been avoided, and thus the city acquired and sustained the repu- 
tation of being a cheap place to trade : and thus, also, has it at- 
tracted cash customers and driven the time customers to other 
cities which either could not adopt, or did not believe in a cash 
trade, coupled with small profits and safety. 



Atlanta In The Panic Year 135 

"While the remarks just made are in the main correct as ap- 
plied to the retail trade and to the smaller class of whole- 
sale dealers, yet they require slight modification when the larger 
wholesale dealers in dry goods are taken specifically into account. 
These generally give a credit of sixty days; but this slight modifi- 
cation has no perceptible effert on the volume of business trans- 
acted, except to increase it, and no effect on the kind of custom 
attracted to the city." 

In the municipal election at the beginning of 1857, William 
Ezzard was elected mayor, and Messrs. Lawshe, Sharpe, Simp- 
son, Holcombe, Peck, Glenn and Farnsworth, councilmen. The 
remaining city officers were : Clerk and tax receiver and collec- 
tor, James McPherson ; treasurer, Cicero H. Strong ; superintend- 
ent of streets, William S. Hancock; first lieutenant of police, Wil- 
lis P. Lanier; second lieutenant of police, Daniel C. Venable; 
clerk of the market, John D. Wells ; sexton, G. A. Pilgrim ; city 
surveyor, H. L. Currier. 

On the 6th of January, 1857, before the old council went 
out, an ordinance was passed subscribing to $100,000 worth of 
the stock of the Georgia Air Line Railroad, the long talked of 
new line which was to connect Atlanta with Richmond, Va., Balti- 
more and the North by the most direct route possible. The sur- 
vey extended in almost a straight line from Atlanta to Charlotte, 
N. C. When this conditional subscription to the stock of the 
Air Line road was made by the city of Atlanta, many citizens 
were skeptical of it being anything but a "paper railroad." 

On the 13th of the same month council entered into a con- 
tract with Winship Brothers to supply the city with twenty-five 
lamp posts, with lamps and burners, for $500. 

The inaugural address of Mayor Ezzard is interesting in 
throwing light upon some public matters that still concern the 
city of Atlanta, and in disclosing the financial status of the munici- 
pality at the opening of 1857. Extracts are taken from it in part 
as follows : 

"In 1855 tne mayor and council entered into a contract with 
William Helme, of Philadelphia, for the erection of gas works 
in the city of Atlanta, and subscribed $20,000 to the capital stock 
of the Atlanta Gas Light Company. They had also contracted 



136 Atlanta And Its Builders 

for the purchase of fifty street lamps and lamp posts for lighting 
the streets of the city, at a cost of $1,050, which has not been 
paid. The stock of said company has been paid for in city bonds 
payable in twenty years, bearing interest at the rate of seven per 
cent, per annum, payable semi-annually. Early in that year the 
city council, thinking it doubtful whether this stock would prove 
to be a profitable investment to the city, and being anxious to dis- 
charge some of its debts, passed a resolution authorizing the 
mayor to sell one-half of said stock for the purpose of liquidating 
the outstanding debts of the city. Under this resolution stock 
to the amount of $1,000 was disposed of at par value for city 
checks ; when, it becoming apparent that the stock would prove a 
profitable investment, the resolution was repealed. According to 
the terms of the contract with the gas company, the street lamps 
were to be lighted with gas for the sum of $1,500 per annum, but 
as the lamps were not all in operation the first year, only $1,458.20 
was demanded by the company. At the expiration of the first 
six months after the commencement of their operation, the com- 
pany declared a dividend of four per cent, par ; for the next six 
months a dividend of eight per cent, was declared, making the 
whole amount of dividend received by the city upon its stock for 
the year, $2,280, leaving a balance of $821.80, which has been 
paid into the treasury. 

"In view of the fact that gas pipes have been laid down in 
many parts of the city which had not been supplied with street 
lamps, the council authorized me to contract with Messrs. Win- 
ship Bros. & Sons for twenty-five additional lamps, which has 
been done, the lamps to cost $500. During the summer the citi- 
zens of Roswell, Cobb county, being anxious to have a bridge 
erected across the Chattahoochee river, on the road leading to this 
place, and having ascertained that a suitable bridge could be built 
for $7,000. they organized a company for that purpose, to the 
capital stock of which they, together with two of the citizens of 
Atlanta, subscribed the sum of $4,000, and the city council, hav- 
ing been petitioned by a large number of the citizens of this place, 
subscribed for the remaining $3,000 of the stock, to be paid in 
bonds payable twenty years after date. From the most reliable 
information which we were able to obtain on the subject, we be- 



Atlanta In The Panic Year 137 

lieved that the tolls arising from said bridge would be sufficient 
to pay, not only the interest on the bonds that might accrue, but 
that also by the creation of a sinking fund, judiciously arranged, 
to extinguish the principal also by the time it should fall due. 

"In compliance with the petition of a large number of our 
citizens, the city council passed an ordinance directing the mayor 
to subscribe $100,000 to the capital stock of the Georgia Air Line 
Railroad Company, all of which, except $1,000, is payable in 
bonds of the city bearing seven per cent, interest, the bonds being 
issued in the following manner : One-third so as to fall due on 
January 1, 1873; one-third on January 1, 1878, and one-third on 
January 1, 1883. The subscription has been made accordingly, 
and the prospect is that the road will be built at no very distant 
day." 

The attainment of metropolitan proportions by Atlanta made 
necessary the establishment of fire-limits, and on the 7th of De- 
cember, 1857, the city council passed an ordinance of that kind. 
It provided that after its passage no person should erect or cause 
to be erected any house for any purpose whatsoever, the walls of 
which should be constructed of wood, on any street within the 
following limits : On Whitehall street, between the intersections 
of that street and Mitchell and Marietta streets; on Mitchell 
street, between Hunter and Alabama streets ; at any point between 
Loyd and Forsyth streets ; on Pryor street, between Alabama 
and Mitchell streets ; on Decatur street west of Collins street ; on 
Marietta street east of Market street; on Market street south of 
Walton street ; on Peachtree street from Marietta street to the 
junction of Market and Peachtree streets. 

On the 8th of June, 1857, the Gate City Guards, Atlanta's 
first military company, was organized with the following officers : 
George H. Thompson, captain ; William L. Ezzard, first lieuten- 
ant; S. W. Jones, second lieutenant; John H. Lovejoy, third lieu- 
tenant; James L. Lewis, first sergeant; Wilson Ballard, second 
sergeant ; Willis P. Chisholm, third sergeant ; James H. Purtell, 
fourth sergeant ; Thomas M. Clarke, first corporal ; James E. 
Butler, second corporal ; E. Holland, third corporal ; Joseph 
Thompson, Jr., fourth corporal; James F. Alexander, surgeon; 
Daniel Pittman, secretary and treasurer. The company soon be- 




N. J. Hammond 



Atlanta In The Panic Year 139 

came one of the crack military organizations of the state, and in 
a few short years it was destined to take its place in the ranks of 
the army fighting for Southern independence. 

The Young Men's Christian Association was organized in 
Atlanta the latter part of 1857, with B. H. Overby, president, and 
N. J. Hammond, secretary and treasurer. Lewis Lawshe, John 
Clarke, J. Hill Davis and M. C. Cole were the vice-presidents, 
and a membership of between 150 and 200 was soon enrolled. The 
association had its first hall in a building on Whitehall street, just 
below Alabama street. It flourished until the outbreak of the 
war, when it disbanded. 

In the city election of January, 1858, the following candi- 
dates were successful : Mayor, L. J. Glenn ; aldermen, first ward, 
F. H. Coleman and John Collier; second ward, William Rushton 
and Thomas J. Lowe; third ward, James E. Williams and J. M. 
Blackwell ; fourth ward, John H. Mecaslin and George S. Alex- 
ander ; fifth ward, Hayden Cole and J. A. Hay den ; clerk, Clement 
C. Howell; treasurer, Philip E. McDaniel; marshal, E. T. Hun- 
nicutt; deputy marshal, Willis Carlisle; lieutenant of police, 
George W. Anderson; clerk of market, E. B. Reynolds; street 
overseer, Thomas G. W. Crussell ; city surveyor, H. W. Fulton; 
sexton, G. A. Pilgrim. 

A communication presented to council on March 5th, 1858, 
in the form of a memorial signed by some two hundred mechanics 
and workingmen of Atlanta, throws a good deal of light on an 
early and unique phase of the labor troubles, in which negro 
slavery figured. The memorial was as follows : 

"We, the undersigned, would respectfully represent to your 
honorable body that there exists in the city of Atlanta a number 
of men who, in the opinion of your memorialists, are of no bene- 
fit to the city. W T e refer to negro mechanics whose masters re- 
side in other places, and who pay nothing toward the support of 
the city government, and whose negro mechanics can afford to 
underbid the regular resident citizen mechanics of your city, to 
their great injury, and without benefit to the city in any way. We 
most respectfully request your honorable body to take the matter 
in hand, and by your action in the premises afford such protection 
to the resident citizen mechanics of vour city as your honorable 



140 Atlanta And Its Builders 

body may deem meet in the premises, and in duty bound your peti- 
tioners will ever pray." 

Early in April the Georgia Air Line Railroad applied to the 
city council for the first installment of the city's subscription of 
$100,000 to its capital stock. By the provisions of the subscrip- 
tion, when the railroad company had received bona fide subscrip- 
tions to the amount of $650,000, exclusive of the stock subscribed 
for by the city of Atlanta, ten per cent, of the amount subscribed, 
or $10,000 was to be paid to the railroad. To this demand of the 
Air Line Railroad the council demurred, contending that the rail- 
road had not produced proof of having the necessary amount sub- 
scribed. The railroad persisting in its claim, council appointed 
a special committee to carefully investigate the matter and report 
the result of its labors at the earliest possible date. The commit- 
tee brought in a report to the effect that the railroad had not raised 
the necessary amount, and submitting the following list as repre- 
senting the sum total of bona fide subscriptions : 

Fulton county $ 84,700 

Hall county 156,900 

Franklin county 146,200 

Hart county 74,600 

Gwinnett county 18,300 

Total stock subscribed $480,700 

This confirmation of its suspicions caused the council to lay 
the petition of the Air Line road upon the table without more 
ado ; but the railroad people were not so easily put off. They in- 
sisted that the necessary $650,000 had been subscribed, and at the 
next meeting of council, on May 6th, they again petitioned that 
body to issue ten per cent, of the bonds agreed upon. The peti- 
tioners accompanied their petition with the following" interroga- 
tions : 

1. Assuming that the stock already subscribed amounts to 
$650,000, and that the subscriptions are bona fide, is there, in the 
opinion of the council, any legal impediment to the city's payment 
of its regular installment of ten per cent, on $100,000, when the 
same shall be demanded by the company? 



Atlanta In The Panic Year 141 

2. If any legal impediment exist, has the council the power 
to remove it? 

3. Will the council exercise the power if requested so to do 
by a majority of the legal voters of the city? 

4. Will the council provide for the holding of an election 
by the citizens, that their wishes on this subject may be expressed? 

On the 13th of May council again took the railroad bond 
matter up and replied to the questions of the corporation. The 
reply was courteous, but firm in its adherence to its previous de- 
cision. In substance it said that "while it was never the inten- 
tion of the city to build the Georgia Air Line railroad alone, it 
was nevertheless its settled policy to assist in the work of con- 
struction to the full amount of its subscription, reserving to itself 
the right to withhold further aid when the conditions on which 
the subscription was made had not been complied with, viz. : the 
subscription of $650,000 outside of the city's subscription. This 
amount, as the council thought, had not been secured, yet, never- 
theless, the council declared its earnest friendship for the road, 
and its warm desire for its success. To the stockholders along 
the line of the road it said once for all : 'We are with you in this 
work, ready to comply when others have fulfilled.' ' 

The Georgia Air Line Railroad did not prove to be of the 
paper variety, and Atlanta did her part in aiding in its construc- 
tion, as promised. But for the breaking out of the war between 
the states, then so imminent, the work of construction would have 
been begun several years sooner. 

The population of the city at this time exceeded 10,000, and 
its rapid growth continued. In 1858 nineteen substantial brick 
stores, some of them pretentious structures, were erected. The 
city hall and county court house building was, for the time, a 
handsome structure of the colonial style of architecture, with 
white entrance porticos on all sides and a double-story cupola with 
half-globe roof, surmounted by the inevitable weather-vane. The 
Atlanta Medical College was among the best of the large build- 
ings, being also of the colonial type of architecture. The church 
organizations heretofore mentioned had creditable brick houses 
of worship. The original "carshed" was very similar in appear- 
ance and dimensions to the present beautiful (?) structure, and 



142 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the early Atlantans, unlike the present fastidious generation, 
were exceedingly proud of it, a wood cut of the depot adorning 
every descriptive print of Atlanta. In addition to the large 
hotels already mentioned, at this time the city boasted of the Ful- 
ton Hotel, at the corner of Alabama and Pryor streets, later the 
site of the Block factory, and the Trout House, at the corner of 
Decatur and Pryor streets. Both of these hotels were prominent 
ante-bellum landmarks and helped to make history during that 
momentous period. It was from the gallery of the latter that 
General Longstreet, en route to join General Bragg at Chicka- 
maugua, delivered an inspiring speech to his troops and the citi- 
zens in the streets below. Among the larger brick stores erected 
at this time was that of Jonathan Norcross, on the site of his pio- 
neer store. Of this period Mr. Reed says : "Among the larg- 
est business firms were Beach & Root, dry goods merchants, 
located where J. M. High's store now is in Whitehall street ; Mc- 
Daniel, Mitchell & Hulsey, dealers in groceries and provisions, 
located where John Keeley's store now is; McNaught, Ormond 
& Scrutchins, who had a hardware store on Whitehall street, 
where now is the hardware store of a son of Mr. Scrutchins ; 
Thomas M. Clarke & Co., dealers in hardware, located where they 
are at the present time, No. 27 Peachtree street; Thomas Kile, a 
prominent merchant, located at the corner of Marietta and Peach- 
tree streets. Among the manufacturing establishments were the 
repair shops of the three railroads which then terminated in At- 
lanta — the Georgia Railroad, the Western and Atlantic, and the 
Macon and Western. These shops employed a large number of 
men, and thus contributed largely to the prosperity of the city. 
Joseph Winship & Co. manufactured cotton gins, threshing ma- 
chines, machine gearing, and carried on quite an extensive busi- 
ness where the Winship Machine Company's works now are. 
Richard Peters had a flouring mill located just below the present 
site of the Georgia Railroad shops. J. C. Peck & Co. had a plan- 
ing mill and manufactured quite extensively sash, doors and 
blinds, and Pitts & Cook also had a planing mill and carried on 
the same kind of business as J. C. Peck & Co." 



CHAPTER XIV 

ATLANTA IN 1859 

In the election of 1859 Luther J. Glenn was chosen for 
mayor, with the following council : First ward, Thomas G. 
Healey and Thomas Haney; second ward, James L. Dunning" and 
William Watkins; third ward, J. M. Blackwell and Coleman F. 
Wood; fourth ward, Bartly M. Smith and Cyrus H. Wallace. 
The other city officials were : C. C. Howell, clerk ; P. E. Mc- 
Daniel, treasurer; G. A. Pilgrim, sexton; Willis Carlisle, mar- 
shal ; E. T. Hunnicutt, deputy marshal ; G. W. Anderson, first 
lieutenant of police; G. M. Lester, second lieutenant of police; 
John Haslett, street overseer ; E. B. Reynolds, clerk of the mar- 
ket; H. L. Currier, city surveyor. 

In his inaugural address the newly elected mayor expressed 
much satisfaction with the financial condition of the municipality. 
The floating debt of $3,000 had been paid off by the preceding 
council, and Mayor Glenn declared that his administration began 
with a clean slate in that regard, not a single check being out- 
standing against the city. He enumerated the bonded debt as 
follows : 

Bonds issued for fair grounds $ 3,000 

Bonds issued for city hall 16,000 

Bonds issued for stock in gas company 20,000 

' Bonds issued to Georgia Air Line Railroad 

Company 5,000 

Bonds issued for stock in the Chattahoochee 

bridge 3,000 

Total bonded indebtedness of city $47,000 

With reference to the erection of the city hall and county 
court house. Mayor Glenn said that the bonds voted for that pur- 

143 



144 Atlanta And Its Builders 

pose were to be redeemed by a special tax of one- fourth of one per 
cent, on real estate and stock in trade, to constitute a sinking fund 
for the payment of interest and the ultimate extinction of the 
principal. The special tax collected up to that time had not been 
applied to the redemption of the bonds, the interest alone having 
been applied as directed by the special tax ordinance. This tax 
for the preceding year amounted to $5,560, from which sum, after 
deducting the $1,120 interest due, there remained $4,440 to be 
applied toward liquidating the bonded debt. This was regarded 
as a most gratifying showing. As yet the Chattahoochee bridge 
had not paid a dividend, but the success of the enterprise was 
unquestioned. The gas company, whose stock the city held to the 
extent of $19,000, had paid the very substantial dividend of ten 
per cent, for the first year. The city had been lighted during that 
time by eighty lamps. 

A new arrangement as to the official printing of the city was 
made by this council in February. The former arrangement had 
proven very unremunerative to the Republican — indeed, the com- 
pensation allowed did not more than cover the actual cost of type- 
setting. The Daily Intelligencer, and the new paper with the 
suggestive name of the Southern Confederacy, jointly made a 
proposition to council, agreeing to insert in their respective jour- 
nals the proceedings and ordinances of the city council, and any 
other desired advertising matter, at one-half their regular adver- 
tising rates of one dollar a square. To this council agreed. 

On May 20th, 1859, Theodore Harris, G. C. Rogers and O. 
H. Jones petitioned council to protect the licensed hack-drivers of 
Atlanta from the competition of farmers and other outsiders who 
owned horses and vehicles. The petitioners alleged that upon 
every occasion that drew large crowds to the city, many unlicensed 
people from not only Fulton, but adjacent counties as well, turned 
many a dollar by doing a transient hack business without taxation, 
to their great detriment and financial loss. This action was taken 
in view of the approaching Southern Central Agricultural fair. 
Council agreed to see that the tax officers were more vigilant in 
putting down the abuse complained of. 

The tax question, as it concerned labor, was extended so as to 
regulate slave or free negro labor where it entered into competi- 



Atlanta In 1859 145 

tion with tax-paying white employment. There was much com- 
plaint among the mechanics of Atlanta about this phase of the 
slavery question, and their petitions to council resulted in several 
ordinances intended to remedy the alleged injustice. One of 
these petitions read : 

"We feel aggrieved, as Southern citizens, that your honor- 
able body tolerates a negro dentist (Roderick Badger) in our 
midst, and in justice to ourselves and the community, it ought to 
be abated. We, the residents of Atlanta, appeal to you for 
justice." 

One of the negro ordinances passed was as follows : "All 
free persons of color coming within the limits of Atlanta to live 
shall, within ten days after their arrival, pay to the clerk of the 
council $200, and in case of failure to do so, shall be arrested by 
the marshal, or other police officer, who shall put him or her in the 
guard house for the term of five days, during which time the mar- 
shall shall advertise in at least one public city gazette that such 
person or persons of color will be hired out at public outcry at the 
city hall, to the person who will take such free person of color for 
the shortest time for said sum, etc." 

On the 3d of June a petition was received asking that an 
ordinance be passed regulating the purchase and sale of slaves in 
the city of Atlanta, in order to compel outside slave traders to pay 
a license, which they had hitherto evaded. Atlanta had become 
quite a slave-trading center, several of her citizens being engaged 
in the business, and they, like the hack-drivers, desired to shut out 
unlicensed competition. A man named Crawford had quite an 
extensive slave mart on Whitehall street, next to Hank Muhlin- 
brinck's saloon, and Bob Clark had the same kind of place on the 
same street, about where Froshin's stand now is. Before council 
regulated the matter, hundreds of negroes were sold in Atlanta by 
their private masters and regular traders without the payment of 
a license. 

In 1859 the first city directory of Atlanta was published — a 
crude affair in comparison with present day directories. It was 
a mere pamphlet, compiled by Mr. Williams and published by M. 
Lynch, who was later a member of the well-known firm of Lynch 
& Thornton. This little work contains much interesting informa- 



146 Atlanta And Its Builders 

tion concerning ante-bellum Atlanta, one of its most attractive 
features being a descriptive sketch of the city written by Green B. 
Haygood, one of the prominent lawyers of the day. After giving 
a glowing introduction, the sketch speaks thus of Atlanta's geo- 
graphical advantages : 

"The geographical position of Atlanta being nearly in the 
center of the southern section of the American union, at the point 
of the great railroad crosssings in a right line from New York to 
New Orleans, and nearly equi-distant from each; four prominent 
lines of railroads all centering here, and pouring into the depots 
and warehouses of the city an amount of trade, and transporting 
through it a vast tide of travel ; situated, too, just upon the dividing- 
line between the cotton and grain sections of the state, altogether, 
give to Atlanta facilities for receiving and distributing the produc- 
tions and commerce of the country from one section to another, 
greater than can be claimed for any other inland city in the South. 
Atlanta is now connected by rail with Chattanooga, Nashville, 
Memphis, and thence with the Upper Mississippi, also, with Lou- 
don and Knoxville, Tenn. ; Lynchburg, Va. ; and thence with the 
great lines north and east ; on the southwest with Montgomery by 
rail, thence by water with Mobile. New Orleans, and all the lower 
Mississippi ; also with Columbus and all southwestern Georgia, 
and with Savannah and the Atlantic through Macon. By the 
Georgia Railroad with Augusta, Charleston, Columbia, Green- 
ville, most of the prominent places in North and South Carolina, 
Virginia and the great northern cities. Another railroad is now 
in projection, and considerable progress made towards its accom- 
plishment, in the direction of Anderson Court House, S. C, 
through the beautiful and productive country known as Northeast 
Georgia ; and another still has been chartered from this point to 
the great and inexhaustible coal fields of northeastern Alabama, 
destined to supply fuel and motive power to the teeming millions 
that shall inhabit these lands for untold ages. Forty-four freight 
and passenger trains arrive and depart daily from the city. 

"The Ocmulgee river, which flows to the Atlantic, has its 
source in the central part of the city. The head spring of South 
river, its principal tributary, being located within the railroad 
reserve, near the present passenger depot, its precise spot being 



Atlanta In 1859 147 

now indicated by the large perennial cistern between the Holland 
House and the Macon and Western depot, on the south side of the 
railroad track ; while Walton Spring, an early celebrity of the 
place, situated a little north of the road, flows into the Chattahoo- 
chee, and thence to the Gulf of Mexico ; so that here in the heart of 
the city the marriage of the waters of the Atlantic and the Gulf 
might have been celebrated high in the air by our own engine 
companies, drawing their supplies the while from the natural 
fountains, flowing thence to their far distant destinations in the 
bosom of the Atlantic and the Gulf. But Charleston must needs 
go to Memphis, that old Ocean, pent up in hoops and staves, may 
be received into the embraces of his Amazon bride, and the Father 
of Waters is shorn of his glories and changed into a huge water 
station on the road to the West. 

"The incorporated shape of the city is a circle two miles in 
diameter, with a handle of half a mile in length and six hundred 
yards wide along the line of the Macon and W r estern Railroad. 
It covers a portion of sixteen original land lots, each of which was 
laid off upon a plan to suit the views of the respective owners, and 
hence our streets are not so regular in width and uniform in direc- 
tion as is desirable — man}- of them being much too narrow for 
public convenience. 

"The population of the city is remarkable for its activity and 
enterprise. Most of the inhabitants came here for the purpose of 
bettering their fortunes by engaging actively in business, and 
this presents the anomaly of having very few aged persons resid- 
ing in it : and our people show their democratic impulses by each 
allowing his neighbor to attend to his own business, and our 
ladies, even, are allowed to attend to their own domestic and 
household affairs without being ruled out of respectable society. 

"Atlanta is a name which is understood to have been pro- 
posed by J. Edgar Thompson, at that time chief engineer of the 
Georgia Railroad. The signification of the name, the reasons for 
its adoption, and the various theories on the subject have now 
become a theme of inquiry and investigation not without interest. 
The writer has heard it claimed as due in honor to a mythological 
goddess, Atlanta, said to have been remarkable for fleetness, 
strength anc J endurance. It was certainlv a fast town then, and 



148 Atlanta And Its Builders 

may have been supposed entitled to the honor of a recognition by 
the goddess, by reason of its early character and its wonderful 
achievements. The infant has become a giant, and is rapidly 
overcoming the obstacles to its growth and prosperity, and mak- 
ing the surrounding country and neighboring villages all tribu- 
tary to its prosperity, permanency and celebrity. The name was 
for a short time written Atalanta, which seems to favor the claims 
of the goddess. An orator of no mean pretentions claimed for it 
the significance of 'a city among the hills,' while a shrewd writer 
has declared that it was the opposite, and proclaimed it 'the city in 
the woods.' And its commercial and geographical position has 
recently procured for it the appellation of 'the Gate City.' 

"And still another theory is set up by some who claim for it 
an origin more worthy of its present importance as a railroad 
entrepot and commercial emporium, taken in connection with its 
future prospects as a great railroad center and manufacturing 
city. The great state work, connecting the waters of the West 
with the Atlantic, commencing at Chattanooga, on the Tennessee 
river, and terminating at this point, had nearly been completed. 
The name Western and Atlantic railroad had been given to it by 
the legislature of Georgia, and it was not inaptly considered the 
great connecting artery through which must pass the incalculable 
mass of produce, manufacture and commerce from the great valley 
of the West and the Atlantic coast, and the imports from abroad 
passing thence to the far West. 

"Atlanta had been permanently fixed as the southeastern 
terminus of that great state work, and gave a local idea to its 
eastern terminus, and that idea, represented or qualified by the 
adjective Atlanta, was incomplete of itself, but clearly pointed to 
something more definite, and the mind is put upon the inquiry for 
the thing signified. The connections by rail from Charleston by 
way of Augusta, and from Savannah, by way of Macon, had both 
been completed to this point. Those roads had been gradually 
ascending the hills from the coast, in search of a 'northwest pas- 
sage,' they had searched the hills upon which the city stands, and 
here they met the Western and Atlantic road, just emerging from 
the wilds of the northwest, seeking by a sinuous and difficult 
ascent from the Western valley for a highway to the Atlantic. 



Atlanta in 1S59 149 

They met together in our streets, they embraced each other upon 
these headlands of the Atlantic. 

"These Atlantic . headlands, when embodied in the noun 
Atlanta, to our mind, meets the demand and represents the ideal 
of the thing sought after, and the mind rests upon it as the thing 
signified by the several indices pointing to Atlanta as the proper 
name for such a city in such a place. This we now state to the 
public as the true derivation sustained by the facts in the case. 

"Atlanta has had a growth unexampled in the history of the 
South. In 1854 the population had reached 6,025. The increase 
for the several years has averaged 1 ,000 per annum. On the first 
of April, 1859, it is ascertained by the census-taker, under state 
authority, to be 11,500 souls. The assessed value of the real 
estate in the city the present year, 1859, * s $2,760,000, and the 
personalty, cash, merchandise, etc., in proportion. 

"The number of stores in 1854 was fifty-seven, exclusive of 
drinking saloons. The amount of goods sold in 1853 was $1,- 
017,000, and the amount sold in 1858 is not accurately known, but 
is believed to have been about $3,000,000, and is now rapidly 
increasing. It is now widening and extending the area of its 
supply on every side. Dry goods are sold to the country for over 
one hundred miles around on terms as favorable to purchasers as 
the retail markets of the great Northern cities, New York itself 
not excepted, and still our merchants are prosperous, thrifty and 
energetic. No respectable house here had to suspend during the 
great crisis in commercial affairs in 1857 an d 1858. 

"The great secret of the safety, success and independence of 
convulsions is to be found in the fact that sales are made at low 
rates, almost entirely for cash, and the profits, though small in 
detail, are often repeated and amount to a vast sum in the aggre- 
gate; a few have fallen by unfortunate speculations. 

"The number of stores and other business houses at present 
is unknown to the writer. Nineteen commodious brick stores 
were erected in 1858, and as many more are now in progress of 
erection in 1859, besides a large number of fine dwellings, mostly 
of brick. Many of the new improvements are imposing struc- 
tures, and would be creditable in the elegant portions of our mod- 
ern cities. 



150 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"There are at present four capacious hotels, now open and 
in successful operation, and another still more extensive is nearly 
completed, designed, we understand, for the accommodation of 
families, hitherto a felt necessity in the city. 

"The city now has in successful operation four large and 
flourishing machine shops, two of which are connected with rail- 
road companies, and two belong to private individuals, where 
stationary engines, mill gearing, with almost every variety of 
castings and machinery are manufactured at short notice. Two 
planing mills and sash and blind factories are also in successful 
operation ; besides, there are numerous smaller manufacturing 
establishments in the city ; three or four tanneries, one or two shoe 
manufactories, besides several smaller establishments. The most 
important establishment in the place is the rolling mill for the 
manufacture of railroad iron, which is capable of turning out 
thirty tons of railroad iron of superior quality- 

"The clothing trade has become an item of no inconsiderable 
importance within the past few years, and presents some new 
features when contrasted with any other Southern cities of equal 
size and age. The manufacture of clothing in this city is a decid- 
ed success, and has increased with an unparalleled rapidity for a 
Southern city. In 1854 five hands were employed in the manu- 
facture of clothing; the number now thus employed exceeds sev- 
enty-five, the larger portion of whom are females. The clothing 
made here has been received with much favor by the public, and is 
believed to have attracted much attention to the wholesale trade 
of the city in that article. In this connection it may be stated that 
this is the great Southern depot for the sale of the most improved 
model of sewing machines, the use of which extensively has 
doubtless added greatly to the trade in the clothing department. 

"The city was first brilliantly lighted with gas, manufactured 
from Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee coal, on December 25, 
1855- 



"We have four prominent lines of railroads, all centering 
here. 



Atlanta In 1859 151 

"The city now contains thirteen Christian churches, and one 
more has been recently, projected. 

"It is not believed that any other city in the country is blessed 
with greater or better facilities for procuring building materials, 
the supply of granite near at hand, of a quality peculiarly adapted 
to building purposes, is literally inexhaustible ; bricks of good 
quality are made in and around the city on reasonable terms. 
Lumber of good quality is also obtained at reasonable prices ; lime 
is produced in any desired quantity near at hand. 

"The mechanical element prevails in our city, and the major 
part of them are enterprising, thrifty and prosperous men, who 
are rapidly rising in the public esteem. 

"The health of the city is almost unprecedented, being entire- 
ly exempt from the usual summer and fall fevers, cholera, etc. 
No epidemic has ever prevailed here, and the bills of mortality 
show a state of health almost without a parallel." 

From the directory from which the foregoing is quoted, we 
also glean the following facts concerning Atlanta up to 1859: 

The churches in the city were : The First Baptist, at the 
corner of Walton and Wadley streets; the Second Baptist, at the 
corner of Mitchell and Washington streets ; the Christian, on the 
south side of Decatur street, between Collins and Loyd streets ; 
Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal church, at the corner of 
Houston and Peachtree streets ; Trinity Methodist Episcopal 
church, on the south side of Mitchell street, between Washington 
and McDonough streets ; Evans Chapel ( M. E. ) , on the north 
side of Nelson street and west of Mangum ; Congregational Meth- 
odist, on the north side of Jones street, between Martin street and 
Connelly's alley ; Protestant Methodist, corner Mitchell and For- 
syth streets ; African M. E. church, on an alley north of Gilmer 
street; Episcopal church, northeast corner of Hunter and Wash- 
ington streets ; First Presbyterian, south side of Marietta street, 
between Wadley and Spring streets ; Central Presbyterian, on 
Washington street, opposite the city hall ; Roman Catholic church, 
on the southeast corner of Hunter and Lovd streets. 



152 Atlanta And Its Builders 

The city was protected by three fire companies, well equipped 
for the time. They were : Atlanta Fire Company No. 1 ; Me- 
chanics Fire Company No. 2 ; and Tallulah Fire Company No. 3. 

There were five lodges of Masons, two lodges of Odd Fel- 
lows, and two temperance societies. N. L. Angier was agent for 
ten insurance companies ; J. E. Butler for one, Alexander M. Wal- 
lace for four, and Samuel Smith for two. 

The banks of the city were : The Bank of Fulton, the At- 
lanta Insurance and Banking Company, the Georgia Railroad and 
Banking Company Agency, the Bank of the State of Georgia 
Agency, and the Augusta Insurance and Banking Agency. 

There were five hotels : The Atlanta, City Hotel, Planters' 
Hotel, Tennessee House and Washington Hall. 

The local press was represented by seven newspapers, one of 
which was daily and weekly, one weekly and tri-weekly, one 
weekly and semi-weekly, two of them weekly and two monthly. 

Thefollowingnumberswereengaged in the various trades and 
professions: Attorneys, 29; clergymen, 10; architects and build- 
ers, 3 ; blacksmiths, 5 ; boarding houses, 14; boiler manufacturers, 
1; boot and shoe dealers, 15; brick manufacturers, 10; clothing 
dealers, 1 1 ; carpenters and builders, 1 ; carriage manufacturers, 3 ; 
commission merchants, 14; cotton dealers, 7; dentists, 7; drug- 
stores, 5 ; wholesale and retail dry goods dealers, 15 ; steam engine 
builders, 2 ; foundries, 2 ; planing mills, 1 ; flour manufacturers, 1 ; 
gents' furnishing goods, 7 ; grain dealers, 3 ; wholesale and retail 
grocers, 66 ; hardware stores, 6 ; leather and findings, 5 ; lottery 
offices, 2; physicians, 31; produce and provisions, 12; real 
estate agents, 2 ; rolling mills, 1 ; private schools, 5 ; slave dealers, 
4; tailors, 4; watches and clocks, 4; wine dealers, 4; besides 
numerous other branches of business. 

According to the federal census of i860, the population of 
Fulton county was 14,427. Subtracting from this the 11,500 
people that the state census of the previous year gave Atlanta, it 
will be seen that the county population was very sparse indeed. 
In presenting, therefore, the government statistics for Fulton 
county as to the various industries, it will be understood that they 
practically apply to Atlanta alone of that time, there having been 
no town of even a handful of inhabitants in the same county. The 



Atlanta In 1S59 153 

census reports show three establishments making boots and shoes, 
with an invested capital of $2,000, employing five hands, to whom 
were paid in wages $1,800. The raw material cost $1,700, and 
the value of the manufactured goods was $4,625. There was one 
carriage manufactory employing fifteen men, to whom $7,200 was 
paid, and employing a capital of $25,000. The cost of the raw 
material was $3,750, and the value of the finished product $14,- 
000. Two flour mills, with a capital of $6,600, employing two 
hands, to whom was paid $600. The cost of the raw material 
was $4,000, and the value of the product, $6,500. One iron 
manufactory with a capital of $100,000, employing a hundred 
men, to whom was paid $36,000 annually. The material cost 
$62,500, and the product was worth $137,230. One leather man- 
ufactory with a capital of $5,000, employing six hands, to whom 
was paid $2,160. The material cost $1,000, and the product sold 
for $2,855. A saw mill represented an investment of $1,000 and 
employed five hands, with an annual wage roll of $840. The 
manufactured product represented $18,000, and the raw material, 
$7,500. Four manufactories of machinery, steam engines, etc., 
with an invested capital of $620,000, giving employment to 167 
men, who received $55,000 in wages. The raw material cost 
$107,000, and the product was valued at $212,850. Two tin, 
copper and sheet iron ware manufactories, with a capital of 
$11,000, employing nineteen hands at an annual expense of 
$6,840. Value of raw material $11,084; finished product, $18,- 
303. The entire number of establishments was fifteen; aggre- 
gate capital, $770,600; hands employed, 319; wages paid, $110,- 
484; value of product, $414,366. 



CHAPTER XV 

WAR CLOUDS 

At the beginning of i860 the anti-federal sentiment in 
Atlanta was at the eruptive point. Hatred of the Abolitionists of 
the North was especially pronounced, and the first expression of 
public disapproval of this element came in the form of a proposi- 
tion to boycott the wholesale merchants of New York, who were 
known to be anti-Southern in their feelings. The local news- 
papers published lists of native Georgians or natives of other 
Southern states who were engaged in the wholesale trade in New 
York or other large Northern cities, and called upon the business 
men of Atlanta to give them the preference when they ordered 
goods. On the 6th of January, i860, the Intelligencer said: 

"For many years past the Southern merchants have been 
accustomed to purchase a large portion of their goods in New 
York and other Northern markets. Charleston, Savannah, and 
other Southern cities have been almost altogether neglected in the 
great furore for Northern purchases. Late movements in refer- 
ence to the slavery question have caused a healthy reaction among 
Southern merchants, and we hear of heavy complaints being made 
of the great falling off of Southern trade and patronage. This is 
good ; the physic begins to work. We have long desired to see 
this corrective applied for the many grievances of which we have 
so long complained as having been inflicted upon us by Northern 
fanaticism. The true policy is to withhold the supplies which we 
have so long furnished Northern merchants, and there will soon 
come a torrent of opposition to Abolitionism from the enterprise 
and capital of the North, which will drive fanaticism from the 
whole country." 

Subsequently there was an organized movement among cer- 
tain of the more radical citizens of Atlanta to bring such pressure 

154 



War Clouds 155 

to bear upon the local merchants, through boycott or otherwise, 
that they would not patronize a Northern wholesaler who was not 
known to be a Southern sympathizer. A number of Atlanta busi- 
ness men signed an agreement to purchase goods from none but 
friends of the South, and to give Southern wholesalers and im- 
porters the preference in their purchase whenever possible. 

In the midst of this political excitement a well-attended mass 
meeting of business men was held to take some action respecting 
what was regarded as the unjust discrimination of the railroads 
against Atlanta in the matter of freight tariffs. This meeting 
was held on the 24th of February, i860. Dr. D. Young acted as 
chairman, and A. M. Eddleman, secretary. After a long and 
spirited discussion, in which the leading merchants participated, 
the following resolutions were unanimously adopted : 

"Whereas, All the undersigned, merchants and business men 
of Atlanta, believing it to be for our mutual interest and for the 
public good, do hereby form ourselves into a mercantile associa- 
tion for the purpose of strength and counsel, to build up the busi- 
ness of Atlanta, and to successfully compete with any city of the 
South, and for the purpose of remedying the present unjust dis- 
criminations against our city, in freights and the commerce of the 
city. 

"Resolved, That by concerted action we will be better pro- 
tected, not only as Southern men, but as merchants, and that we 
will feel ourselves in honor bound to impart such information to 
the association as may be useful to our section and the protection 
of our trade. 

"Resolved, That we look upon the discrimination of Charles- 
ton and Savannah in favor of Nashville and other cities in freight 
as unjust and oppressive, and objectionable to our interests as a 
commercial city, and that we will treat all those cities fairly and 
honorably to get a reduction from those ports to Atlanta. 

"Resolved, That we will, individually and collectively, use our 
best endeavors to make Atlanta a port of entry, believing it would 
be of benefit to ourselves, our state, and the general government. 

"Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to form a 
constitution and by-laws for this association, and for other pur- 
poses, and to report at a meeting to be held on next Friday night." 



156 Atlanta And Its Builders 

The committee appointed under the foregoing resolutions con- 
sisted of J. B. Peck, S. "B. Robson, W. M. Williams, Dr. John L. 
Hamilton and Judge S. B. Hoyt. At the same meeting another 
committee was appointed to look into the matter of freight dis- 
crimination, consisting of Sidney Root, William McNaught, Wil- 
liam Herring, John R. Wallace, A. K. Seago, William H. Barnes, 
E. M. Seago, P. L. J. May, and Judge Hoyt. 

This organization was quite active for a few weeks, but with 
the outbreak of the war came to naught. One of its secret pur- 
poses was to discriminate in favor of Southern wholesalers doing 
business in the North. 

In common with her sister cities of the South Atlanta was 
much interested in the movement represented by the organization 
known as the Knights of the Golden Circle. "General" Bickley, 
the organizer and promotor of the movement, appeared in Atlanta 
with other leaders of the mysterious order, in the spring of i860, 
and addressed a large mass meeting of Atlantans with the object 
of enlisting them in the chimerical scheme which was the osten- 
sible object of the Knights of the Golden Circle. After the meet- 
ing, a number of citizens appointed an advisory committee to re- 
port on the desirability of effecting the organization of a lodge of 
the order in Atlanta. This committee made the following report : 

"Impressed with the necessity of vigilance and determination 
in the defense of the constitutional rights of the Southern or Slave 
States, threatened with an irrepressible conflict by and through 
which these states are to be despoiled of those rights ; warned by 
active aggressions, insurrectionary movements, murder most foul, 
and the advance onward to political power of the abolition senti- 
ment, it is time to prepare for an ominous future, to guard all that 
which we constitutionally possess, and as far as in our power may 
be, to extend Southern sentiments. Southern institutions, and 
Southern civilization, therefore, 

"Resolved 1. That we recognize in the aims of the Knights 
of the Golden Circle, as set forth by General Bickley, of Virginia, 
Major Henry Castilanos, of Louisiana, and Colonel N. J. Scott, 
of Alabama, a movement which we heartily commend, because the 
Slave States of this Union have in them their success guaranteed, 
not only for the continuance of the domestic institution of slavery 



War Clouds 157 

in their midst, but aiso its extension south, with all other elements 
of Southern civilization. 

"Resolved 2. That this meeting returns its warmest thanks 
to the distinguished General Bickley, Major Henry Castilanos and 
Colonel N. J. Scott, for the valuable information imparted to it, 
and do most cordially commend them and their course to the re- 
spectful and patriotic consideration and support of our fellow- 
citizens of Georgia and the South." 

Subsequent meetings were held, and when he left Atlanta, 
Bickley left behind him the nucleus of a flourishing lodge, which was 
industrious in its efforts to raise the "sinews of war," which most 
deeply interested the prime movers of the Knights of the Golden 
Circle. A goodly sum of money was turned over to the state 
"central committee" for propaganda work in the South. Later 
Bickley was held up as a fraud by prominent Southern papers, but 
his movement had attracted a very large following by the break- 
ing out of hostilities between North and South, and hundreds of 
deluded Southerners journeyed to the Rio Grande to mass for the 
movement on Mexico, which was the prime object of the organi- 
zation fathered by Bickley, according to him. He proposed to 
send thousands of armed Southern young men to assist Juarez in 
establishing his authority in Mexico against Miramon's machina- 
tions to overthrow the republic and establish a dictatorship, which, 
once accomplished, would result in the establishment of negro 
slavery in Mexico and a political alliance between that republic 
and the Southern States for the perpetuation of the institution, and 
if need be, its defense against Abolition fanaticism in the North. 
Bickley prophesied eventually a great Southern slave republic, 
formed from the slave states of the United States and Mexico, 
strong enough to dictate terms to all Yankeedom, and rich enough 
and enterprising enough, with King Cotton as the basis of its 
prosperity, to control the commerce of the Western Hemisphere. 
It was a great scheme, but it dissolved like a child's soap bubble 
when the guns of Fort Sumter announced that the South had 
crossed the political Rubicon. 

Stephen A. Douglas, the candidate of the Northern Democ- 
racy for president in the race against Abraham Lincoln, visited 
Atlanta while making his stumping tour of the Union, and deliv- 



158 Atlanta And Its Builders 

ered a public address in the city on October 30, i860. Although 
among state's rights enthusiasts, a large audience heard the dis- 
tinguished speaker respectfully. Before the meeting was held 
the following pertinent questions were propounded to the "Little 
Giant" by the executive committee of the Breckenridge and Lane 
party of Fulton county, with the request that he make categorical 
answer in his speech : 

"1. Has not each state the sovereign right to decide for 
itself what shall be sufficient cause for withdrawal from the 
Union ? 

"2. If upon the election of Abraham Lincoln any of the 
Southern States, in sovereign convention assembled, should de- 
cide to withdraw from the Union, would the Federal government 
have a right to coerce her back into the Union, and would you 
assist the Federal government in so coercing her ? 

"If you answer that the right of secession is only the right of 
revolution inherent in the people, then would not the citizens of 
said state withdrawing, by exercising the right of revolution, be 
acting as rebels and traitors to the Federal government, and would 
you aid in their punishment as such?" 

Judge Doug'las took notice of the questions at the opening of ■■ 
his brilliant speech, but said they were impertinent, because the 
same questions had been put to Mr. Breckenridge. He contend- 
ed, however, that in the very nature of it, the Union must be per- 
petual or liberty fall ; that no adequate cause for the secession of 
any state could exist as the republic was organized, and that the 
talk of danger from foreign aggression was preposterous. His 
speech made a strong impression on his hearers, complimentary to 
his ability, but gained him few votes. 

The day following Douglas's address, a "Minute Men Asso- 
ciation" was organized at the armory of the Atlanta Grays, the 
object of which was "to organize in the city of Atlanta, and in 
Fulton county, men of all parties, not as partisans, but as true 
Southern men, a body to be known as the 'Minute Men of Fulton 
County,' to bind themselves to stand by the state rights of the 
South, their honor, their homes, and their firesides, against a black 
Republican government." Dr. W. F. Westmoreland presided, 
and W. S. Bass ford acted as secretary. The resolutions adopted 
are reproduced below : 



War Clouds 159 

"Whereas, It is now probable and almost certain that an 
Abolition candidate will be elected to the chief magistracy of the 
Union upon the avowed and undisguised declaration on his part 
and on the part of his supporters, that this common government 
shall be administered for the destruction of the rights and of the 
institutions of the Southern States in the Union, and 

"Whereas, We recognize the right of any sovereign state to 
withdraw from the partnership of States whenever in her sover- 
eign capacity she may determine that the objects of the Confed- 
eracy have been perverted, or not carried out in good faith, there- 
fore, 

"Resolved, That we as citizens of Georgia acknowledge our 
allegiance to the Federal government, and that in the event of the 
election of Abraham Lincoln, we pledge ourselves to maintain at 
all hazards, and to the last extremity, any course that may be 
adopted for self-defense against the Federal power. 

"Resolved, That if any Southern State may determine to 
secede from the Union, we will by all means in our power assist 
her in resistance against any effort on the part of a black Repub- 
lican administration to coerce her back into the Confederacy. 

"Resolved, That it is the sacred duty of Southern men in the 
present alarming crisis to forget past political and partisan differ- 
ences, and to unite together as brethren of one household, in 
determined opposition to the policy of a black Republican party." 

This organization was perfected and continued its existence 
with much enthusiasm until Georgia seceded from the Union. At 
one of its meetings following the announcement that Lincoln had 
been elected to the presidency, the following resolution was adopt- 
ed amid wild applause : 

"Whereas, News having reached us that Abraham Lincoln 
has been elected president of the United States by a dominant Free 
Soil majority, whose sole idea is the destruction of our constitu- 
tional rights, and eternal hostility to our domestic institutions, 
therefore, 

"Resolved. That as citizens of Georgia and Fulton county, 
we believe the time has come for us to assert our rights, and we 
now stand ready to second any action that the sovereign state of 
Georgia may take in asserting her independence by separate state 




Sidney Root 



War Clouds 161 

action, or in unison with her sister States of the South in forming 
a Southern Confederacy." 

At this meeting strong secession speeches were made by such 
prominent and conservative citizens as Sidney Root. The roster 
of the "Minute Men" by this time contained the names of a ma- 
jority of the adult male population of the city and county. 

On the ioth of November a rousing meeting of the organiza- 
tion was held to hear a speech by Hon. Lucius J. Gartrell, member 
of congress from the Atlanta district. Colonel Gartrell endorsed 
unqualifiedly the objects and efforts of the organization and made 
a fiery speech in which he declared that a Southern Confederacy 
would be an established fact within the next six months. 

As a relic of those stirring times, it may prove of interest to 
give the vote of Atlanta and Fulton county in the presidential 
election of i860. In the Atlanta precinct the vote stood : Doug- 
las, 335; Breckenridge, 835; Bell, 1,070. The vote of Fulton 
county, exclusive of Atlanta : Douglas, 327 ; Breckenridge, 
1,018; Bell, 1,195. 

Another enthusiastic meeting of the association was held in 
the court house on the 12th of November. A committee com- 
posed of Green B. Haygood, Thomas L. Cooper, Luther J. Glenn, 
Jared T. Whitaker, Amos W. Hammond, Thomas C. Howard and 
Logan E. Bleckley was appointed to draft resolutions urging 
Georgia to hold a state's rights convention, in imitation of South 
Carolina, and adopting a secession ordinance, if such was the 
majority's will. The resolutions as adopted advocated petition- 
ing the legislature, then in session at Milledgeville, to provide by- 
laws for the election of delegates to a state convention to consider 
Federal relations ; approving the recent special message of the 
governor recommending the arming of the state forces at the 
earliest possible moment ; recognizing the sovereignty of the state 
and its consequent right of secession ; pledging their obedience to 
such action as a state convention might see fit to take, and express- 
ing the solemn opinion that the only recourse of the South in the 
present grave crisis lay in the withdrawal of its several common- 
wealths from the Federal Union. 

At a meeting held on December 3, blue cockades to be worn 
by the "Minute Men" were presented to the organization by Mrs. 
John W. Leonard and accepted with resolutions of thanks. 



162 Atlanta And Its Builders 

At this meeting a committee of public safety was appointed, 
with powers to summon before it all suspected characters, and to 
rid the community of such obnoxious persons as were hostile and 
dangerous to the rights and interests of the city or state. This 
committee was composed of Sidney Root, F. Williams, Elias Hol- 
comb, G. W. Anderson, J. T. Lewis, Frank Walker, T. L. Cooper, 
N. R Fowler, A. M. Orr, B. N. Williford, William Gilbert, James 
E. Williams, J. R. Rhodes, Benjamin May, B. M. Smith, W. F. 
Westmoreland, C. H. Chandler, J. H. Lovejoy, E. T. Hunnicutt, 
S. W. Jones and William Barnes. 

A grand secession demonstration to ratify the selection of 
local delegates to the state convention was held on December ioth. 
The delegates nominated by Atlanta were Luther J. Glenn, Joseph 
P. Logan and James F. Alexander. Fiery patriotic speeches were 
made at this ratification meeting, by the delegates and other lead- 
ing citizens, and the demonstration concluded with a grand torch- 
light procession. The great crowd gave three cheers and a tiger 
for South Carolina. 

From that time on a regular secession campaign was inaug- 
urated throughout the state, and mass meetings were held almost 
nightly. On the 22d of December the Hon. Howell Cobb ad- 
dressed the people of Atlanta in the forenoon, and Hon. Henry R. 
Jackson in the afternoon. The object of the big gathering and 
procession was to ratify the action of the Palmetto State in seced- 
ing from the Union. At night an effigy of President Lincoln was 
burned in front of the Planter's hotel. 

On February 7th a mass meeting was held to extend an invi- 
tation to the states of the South to hold a general secession con- 
vention in Atlanta, in accordance with a suggestion of the Vir- 
ginia legislature. The following resolutions were adopted : 

"Whereas, We find in the public prints of the country, the 
report of a series of resolutions that have been introduced into 
the legislature of Virginia, recommending the holding of a South- 
ern convention or conference in the city of Atlanta, and 

"Whereas, We, the citizens of Georgia and the city of Atlan- 
ta, believe it not only fit and proper, but the imperative duty of the 
Southern States of the American Union, in this important and 
alarming crisis of our national affairs to meet together by their 



War Clouds ^3 

representatives, duly commissioned for that purpose, in a spirit of 
fraternity, to counsel with each other as to the best remedy by 
which the constitutional rights of the South may hereafter be 
fully respected and preserved in the Union, or if the aggressions 
of the dominant section should be continued, to devise some 
peaceable and efficient plan by which the rights, honor and integ- 
rity of the South may be preserved out of the Union, therefore, 

"Resolved, That the citizens of Atlanta, in mass meeting 
assembled, without distinction of party, and only recognizing our- 
selves as belonging to a common country with common honor and 
common interests to preserve, do most cordially sympathize with 
and heartily respond to the spirit and object of the resolutions 
above referred to, and now pending before the Virginia legisla- 
ture. 

"Resolved, That we most cordially offer the hospitalities of 
the city to the convention or conference, and pledge ourselves to 
make ample and appropriate provision for the accommodation of 
said delegates, and for the Southerners generally, and do hereby 
open to them our hands, hearts and homes. 

"Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be duly certified 
ty the chairman and secretary of this meeting, and that the mayor 
of the city, in his official capacity, be requested to transmit them 
to the governor of Virginia, with a special solicitation that they 
be presented to the General Assembly of that State." 



CHAPTER XVI 

FIRST YEARS OF THE WAR 

With the opening of the war, Atlanta became an important 
military center. In the language of E. Y. Clarke : "Atlanta 
became one of the military centers and supply depots of the South- 
ern Confederacy. The manufacture of arms, ammunition and 
war material in general, was conducted on the most extensive 
scale. There were many other manufactures, as for instance, 
those of alcohol, vinegar, and spirits of nitre, by Bellingrath, of 
the firm of Hunnicutt & Bellingrath, for the Confederate govern- 
ment. In 1862 the city passed under martial law, and at once 
became the headquarters for Confederate quartermasters and com- 
missaries. It was made, too, a chief hospital point. Several 
hotels, the medical college, female institute building and others, 
were used for hospitals and store houses. It is probable that in 
these hospitals, from time to time, there were treated and nursed 
at least seventy-five thousand Confederate sick and wounded. 
These different enterprises required the labor of a large force of 
men, and heavy expenditures of money, which stimulated trade." 

Jaredl. Whitaker was elected mayor in January, 1861, after a 
warm municipal campaign. The council elected with Judge Whit- 
aker was composed of Felix Hardeman, F. C. House, lames F. 
Crew, A. R. White, Robert Crawford, C. A. Whaley, J. H. 
Mecaslin, James Lynch, S. B. Robson and Thomas Kile. 

On the 2d of January, 1861, the election to send delegates to 
the Georgia state convention to take into consideration Federal 
relations, or to determine whether Georgia should follow South 
Carolina's secession example, occurred, and Atlanta elected a full 
secession delegation. The vote stood : For secession, Luther J. 
Glenn, 950; James F. Alexander, 950; Joseph P. Logan, 956; for 
co-operation, James M. Calhoun, 503 ; G. W. Adair, 485 ; T. 

164 



First Years Of The War 165 

Moore, 473. In Fulton county the vote was: Glenn, 1,053; 
Alexander, 1,055; Logan, 1,059; Calhoun, 692; Adair, 672; 
Moore, 661. The convention was called to be held on the 16th 
of January. 

As a characteristic editorial expression of the day, the follow- 
ing is taken from the Atlanta Intelligencer of January 3d : 

"Telegraphic news published this morning proves beyond 
doubt that the administration at Washington is crowded by 
Northern influence. All the Southern members of the cabinet 
should resign rather than be particcps criminus in the coercion of 
the South, a course the administration seems determined upon. 
It is the duty of the Cotton States to secede at once, so as to make 
coercion impossible. Mr. Lincoln, through the Springfield Jour- 
nal, said : 'The treason of secession must be put down, if it costs 
millions of lives.' This is tall talk, and experienced as he has been 
in splitting logs, he will find the Palmetto and the Quercus Aus- 
tralis of the Cotton States rather stiff, should he come in contact 
with them, which he will attempt — in a horn." 

On January 3d, 1861, Atlanta's crack military company, the 
Grays, chose its officers for the ensuing year, as follows : Cap- 
tain, A. M. Wallace ; first lieutenant, Dr. Capers ; second lieuten- 
ant, S. W. Jones ; third lieutenant, Dr. B. M. Smith ; fourth lieu- 
tenant, H. H. Witt ; first sergeant, Frank Baker ; second sergeant, 
J. M. Smith; third sergeant, J. R. Wells; fourth sergeant, J. F. 
Albert ; first corporal, Mr. Thomas ; second corporal, J. Adair ; 
quartermaster, James A. Barnes ; surgeon, Dr. Thomas. 

On the 3d day of January one of the first ward companies 
was organized — the "Georgia Volunteers." It was the boast of 
its members, mature men for the most part, that there was not a 
"feather-bed soldier'' in the company. The officers of this organ- 
ization were : W. W. Boyd, captain ; F. M. Johnson, first lieu- 
tenant; F. M. Stovall, second lieutenant; William Mackie, third 
lieutenant; J. W. Brown, first sergeant; W. T. Mead, second ser- 
geant ; L. W. DeTaum, third sergeant ; W. H. Joiner, fourth ser- 
geant ; J. M. Willis, first corporal ; W. Shepard, second corporal ; 
A. J. Kennedy, third corporal ; Volney Dunning, fourth corporal ; 
treasurer, J. G. Foreacre ; recording secretary, L. C. Smith ; finan- 
cial secretary, F. H. Nimms ; surgeon, Dr. Roach. 




Joseph Payne Logan, M. D. 



First Years Of The War 167 

Another military company was organized on the 25th of 
January, with the following officers: Captain, G. W. Lee; first 
lieutenant, Jabez R. Rhodes; second lieutenant, G. W. Anderson; 
ensign, John A. Foreacre. 

When Jefferson Davis arrived in Atlanta on the 16th of 
February, en route from Washington to Montgomery, Ala., to 
take the oath of office as president of the Southern Confederacy, 
he was given a royal ovation by the people of many counties jour- 
neying to Atlanta to see Atlanta's distinguished guest. A salute 
of seven guns was fired by the Atlanta Grays as the president's 
train rolled into the depot, and he was met and escorted to the 
Trout House by a large committee of citizens, the mayor and 
common council, the local military and fraternal organizations, 
and the five companies. A public reception was given at the 
hotel, at which, responding to the mayor's address of welcome, 
Mr. Davis made quite a pretentious speech, in which he set forth 
the reasons for secession in strong terms and paid a glowing 
tribute to the bravery and patriotism of the Southern people, soon 
to be tried in the red crucible of war. He said the North was 
responsible for the destruction of the Federal Union, as it had 
deliberately and faithlessly subverted the constitution. The re- 
ception committee of the occasion, which was said to be the most 
splendid in Atlanta's history, was composed of Congressman L. J. 
Gartrell, Dr. Joseph P. Logan, Col. J. W. Duncan, Dr. B. M. 
Smith and Capt. A. M. Wallace. The president departed in an 
elegant private car furnished for his use free by the Atlanta and 
West Point railroad. 

A grand military display was made in the city on the occasion 
of Washington's birthday. The various military organizations 
paraded the streets and repaired to the female college to listen to 
patriotic addresses and exercises by the pupils. The organiza- 
tions participating were : Gate City Guards, Capt. G. H. Thomp- 
son ; Atlanta Grays, Capt. A. M. Wallace ; Fulton Dragoons, 
Capt. James Williams; Atlanta Cadets, Capt. W. P. Chisholm; 
Fulton Blues, Capt. J. H. Purtell. 

On the 27th of February another company was organized, 
known as Davis' Tnfantry. The officers were : Captain, Wilson 
J. Ballard ; lieutenants, first, Joseph Thompson ; second, Albert 



i68 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Howell; third, John Edgar Thompson; fourth. James H. Mead; 
sergeants, first, M. O. Markham ; second, W. F. Combs; third, 
A. C. McPherson ; fourth, E. B. Lovejoy ; fifth, A. N. Salmon ; 
corporals, first, William Clayton ; second, Charles Maddox ; third, 
J. B. Simms ; fourth, L. W. Wyley ; quartermaster, R. E. Cowart ; 
surgeon, Dr. L. S. Mead ; secretary and treasurer, T. E. Walker. 

Alexander H. Stephens, vice-president of the Southern Con- 
federacy, passed through Atlanta en route from Montgomery to 
Savannah on March 12th, and the citizens paid him high honors. 
He was always a favorite in Atlanta. There was a military pa- 
rade, as on the occasion of President Davis's visit the previous 
month, and a committee of fifteen prominent Atlantans met him 
at the train to tender him the hospitality of the city. Captain 
A. M. Wallace was the chief marshal of the military pageant. 
Mr. Stephens was entertained at the Atlanta Hotel, where he 
made a speech of surpassing eloquence and breadth of statesman- 
ship, in which he declared that within ten days Fort Sumter would 
have surrendered. He expressed the belief that the South would 
be able to compel the recognition of her independence without re- 
course to arms, but advised his hearers to prepare for war, as by 
so doing peace would be doubly assured. At the reception which 
followed, thousands of enthusiastic Georgians grasped the frail 
hand of the little statesman and expressed their hearty sympathy 
with the cause he represented. 

On the 1st of April. 1861, the Gate City Guards left for Pen- 
sacola, Fla., where they were ordered on guard duty. Before 
marching to the depot the company, escorted by the other military 
organizations of the city, marched to the Franklin Printing 
House, where General Rice, of that institution, on behalf of the 
ladies of Atlanta, presented the departing soldiers with a beauti- 
ful stand of Confederate colors. The guards, through Captain 
Ezzard, presented Miss Hanleiter, the leader of the group of 
ladies who made the flag, with a fine gold watch, suitably en- 
graved. A number of speeches were made, and business was 
suspended while the ceremony was in progress and the gallant 
guards marched to the depot. The officers of the departing com- 
pany were: Captain, William L. Ezzard; first lieutenant, H. M. 
Wyley; second lieutenant, A. Leyden. The privates numbered 
seventv strong. 




General L. J. Gartrell 



Distinguished as one of the greatest criminal 
lawyers at the Georgia Bar 



17° Atlanta And Its Builders 

As early as April 17th, of that year, the patriotic ladies of 
Atlanta organized an aid society for the purpose of preparing lint 
and bandages for the volunteers in the defenses of Pensacola. 

When the news of the secession of Virginia on April 18th 
reached Atlanta, the citizens went wild with joy. It was believed 
that the example of the grand Old Dominion would now be speed- 
ily followed by every slave-holding state. The church bells were 
rung, steam whistles blown, and the people cheered themselves 
hoarse. The Atlanta Grays fired a salute of eight guns, signifi- 
cant of the number of seceding states. The bands played, 
military paraded, speeches were made, and at night there were 
fireworks and a torchlight procession two miles long. 

New companies were organized in rapid succession. The 
Confederate Volunteers were ready to receive their arms and 
equipments on April 24, 1861. The officers were: Captain, 
L. J. Gartrell ; first lieutenant, G. J. Foreacre ; second lieutenant, 
Perino Brown ; third lieutenant, H. H. Witt ; first sergeant R. K. 
Dillard; second sergeant, W. P. Moore: third sergeant, J. C. Hen- 
drix; fourth sergeant, J. R. Loveless; first corporal, P. Gannon; 
second corporal, D. W. Daniel ; third corporal, W. J. Barritt ; 
fourth corporal, J. W. Blair ; surgeon, R. J. Massey ; secretary 
and treasurer, L. P. Grant ; chaplain, Rev. J. L. Rogers. 

On the same day the Stephens Rifles were organized with 
L. J. Glenn, captain ; R. F. Maddox, first lieutenant ; Elias Hol- 
comb, second lieutenant ; John H. Lovejoy. third lieutenant ; C. 
A. Amoss, first sergeant ; A. O. Bacon, second sergeant ; E. D. 
Cheshire, third sergeant; C. S. Morgan, fourth sergeant; R. Y. 
Jones, fifth sergeant ; W. W. Peck, first corporal ; Thomas E. 
Walker second corporal ; A. S. Talley. third, corporal ; R. C. 
Robson, fourth corporal; W. P. McDaniel, quartermaster; W. C. 
Moore, secretary and treasurer; James P. Hambleton, surgeon. 

The Silver Grays were organized on April 26, 1861. This 
company was unique in that its members were all over forty-five 
years of age, and a number of them were veterans of the Mexican 
war. The officers of the Silver Grays were : Captain, Hub- 
bard Cozart ; first lieutenant, A. G. Ware ; second lieutenant, 
Isaac Mitchell; first sergeant, John Jones. These men were or- 
ganized as home guards, to aid the municipal authorities in pre- 



First Years Of The War 171 

serving order and to give aid to the soldiers at the front by car- 
ing for their families. In an emergency they were expected to 
defend the city. 

The fire companies also tendered their services to the mayor 
as home-guards, and as soldiers' relief associations. The physi- 
cians of the city agreed to give their professional services gratis to 
the destitute families of soldiers in the field. 

There was also a company known as the Safe Guards, which 
on April 29th elected the following officers : Captain, William 
Ezzard; first lieutenant, Joseph A. Reeves; second lieutenant, 
John Glenn; third lieutenant, A. J. Hayes; orderly sergeant, W. 
G. Gramling. 

The German citizens of Atlanta organized a company called 
the Steuben Yagers, with the following officers : Captain, Maur- 
ice L. Lichtenstadt ; first lieutenant, George S. Thomas; second 
lieutenant. Carl F. Barth ; third lieutenant, Charles Heinz ; sur- 
geon, Dr. Francis Guetebruck. 

A volunteer regiment was organized in Atlanta on May 8, 
1861, composed of the following companies: Confederate Vol- 
unteers; McDonald Guards, Cobb county; Stone Mountain 
Guards, De Kalb county ; Cobb Mountaineers, Cobb county ; Con- 
federate Guards, Cobb county ; Paulding Volunteers, Paulding 
county; Roswell Guards, Cobb county; De Kalb Light Infantry, 
De Kalb county ; Coweta Second District Guards, Coweta county ; 
Davis Infantry, Fulton county. Ex-Congressman Gartrell was 
honored with the colonelcy of the regiment ; James F. Cooper was 
elected lieutenant-colonel ; John Dunwoody, major, and Dr. 
James F. Alexander, surgeon. 

The Lewis and Philips Rifles were organized on the 18th of 
May with S. C. Rose, captain ; Jesse D. Gilbert, first lieutenant ; 
J. P. Winder, second lieutenant; W. A. Fuller, third lieutenant; 
T. D. Wright, first sergeant ; H. W. Bropton, second sergeant ; 
J. W. Farmer, third sergeant ; J. T. Thompson, fourth sergeant ; 
D. C. Lackman, first corporal ; W. D. West, second corporal ; W. 
G. Buckalew, third corporal ; A. S. Bridges, fourth corporal ; W. 
W. Durham, surgeon, D. A. Walker, secretary ; J. T. Mays, treas- 
urer. 

On the 24th of May the Confederate Continentals were or- 
ganized and elected the following officers : Captain, E. M. 



172 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Seago; first lieutenant, C. H. Castello; second lieutenant, R. S. 
Pomeroy; third lieutenant, W. L. Abbott; orderly sergeant, 
Thomas Vigis. 

The Atlanta Rifles were organized on the same day as the 
foregoing company. Their captain was John Collier; first lieu- 
tenant, C. A. Pitts; second lieutenant, Er Lawshe; third lieuten- 
ant, J. N. Simons ; orderly sergeant, A. G. Thomas ; secretary, 
Moses Cole; treasurer, J. S. Willmer; surgeon, Dr. O'Keefe. 

The Mechanics Rifles, designed for service as sappers and 
miners, were organized with the following officers : Captain, C. 
H. Castello ; first lieutenant, J. M. Tay ; second lieutenant, James 
Noble, Jr.; third lieutenant, William Keller; first sergeant, 
Thomas Vigis ; secretary, N. Center ; treasurer, T. M. Toy. This 
company was 100 strong. 

The Confederate Guards was another Atlanta organization 
organized late in the spring of 1861. Its officers were: Cap- 
tain, John H. Baker; first lieutenant, John H. Mitchell; second 
lieutenant, E. L. Connally ; third lieutenant, J. C. Steger. Be- 
sides these there were ten non-commissioned officers and a full 
hundred privates. 

The Fulton True Blues were organized on October 7th, 1861, 
for coast defense. The officers chosen were : Captain, Albert 
Howell ; first lieutenant, Joseph Thompson, Jr. ; second lieutenant, 
Warren Jourdan; third lieutenant, R. A. Fife; orderly sergeant, 
J. C. Spencer ; second sergeant, C. Brumley ; third sergeant, J. A. 
Baker ; fourth sergeant, J. M. Hunnicutt. 

On the 19th of the same month the Whitaker Volunteers 
tendered their services to the Confederacy, with the following 
officers in command : Captain, M. W. Rasbury ; first lieuten- 
ant, W. T. Albert; second lieutenant, M. M. Bently; third lieu- 
tenant, James F. Christian; first sergeant, James E. Blackstock; 
second sergeant, W. P. Garrard ; third sergeant, George Warren ; 
fourth sergeant, D. C. Coker. On the 28th of October the Whit- 
aker Volunteers left for the front, and were presented with a 
beautiful stand of colors by Judge Jared I. Whitaker, in whose 
honor the company name was taken, on behalf of his wife. 

The women of Atlanta stopped at no sacrifice to contribute 
to the comfort of the brave men at the front. The leading 
women's relief organization was known as "The Atlanta Ama- 



First Years Of The War 173 

teurs," which was organized May 28, 1861, for the purpose of 
raising funds for the soldiers and their families, by means of en- 
tertainments, concerts, etc. The little group of charter members 
consisted of Mrs. W. T. Farrar, Mrs. W. A. Haynes, and Misses 
W. F. Grambling, Julia Whitney, M. F. Whitney, R. J. Hale, S. 
A. Boyd, E. C. Goudy and Nash. There were eighteen male 
members of the company, as follows : President, S. H. B. Oat- 
man ; superintendent, W. T. Farrar ; treasurer, S. B. Sherwood ; 
secretary, C. P. Haynes; manager, W. H. Barnes. The Ama- 
teurs maintained their organization throughout the war and were 
the means of hundreds of dollars being sent to the Atlanta volun- 
teers in the field. 

The Volunteer Relief Association was organized on May 1, 
1 86 1, and did good work for the cause until fall, when the In- 
ferior Court of Fulton county assumed the duty of providing for 
the needs of soldiers' families. Sidney Root was president of 
this association, and J. H. Mecaslin, secretary. The organiza- 
tion raised $2,370 during the few months of its existence. 

On June 1, 1862, Atlanta was made a military post, with 
Major Leyden in command. By the middle of that summer there 
were a number of Confederate hospitals in the city — the Empire 
Hospital, Heery Hospital, Gate City, City Hotel, Alexander, Con- 
cert Hall, Wilson's, Denny, Medical College, and Jane's and Hay- 
den's. On the 1st of July a provost-guard of fifty men was or- 
ganized by Provost-Marshal Foreacre, the members of the guard 
being exempt from conscription. By this time a bounty of $50 
was paid per capita to a new regiment organized in Fulton 
county, showing that eligible men were scarce. The regiment 
was called the Fulton County Dragoons. A number of citizens, 
some of them thrifty and prominent, paid handsome prices for 
substitutes. 

Next Atlanta was placed under martial law, as is shown by 
the following orders : 

Special Order Headquarters Department No. 2. 

No. 14. Chattanooga, Aug. 11, 1862. 

Martial law is hereby established within the corporate limits 
and environs of Atlanta, Georgia. By command of 

George G. Garner, A. A. G. General Bragg. 



174 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 12, 1862. 

Martial law having been declared over Atlanta and its 
environs, I do hereby publish the following special order for the 
information of hotel and boarding-house keepers : 

Special Order. No hotel or boarding-house keeper or citi- 
zen within the lines of this city or its environs, will be permitted 
to receive any traveler or visitor until the visitor or traveler shall 
produce a permit, which permit shall immediately be delivered 
by the hotel or boarding-house keeper or citizen to the provost- 
marshal. The traveler or visitor shall thereupon call upon the 
provost-marshal and have the permit vised by him, or a new per- 
mit granted to remain in or leave the city ; and no hotel or board- 
ing-house keeper or citizen shall permit any traveler or visitor to 
take away any package without having a permit vised by the pro- 
vost-marshal, or his permit to leave the city. Each hotel or 
boarding-house keeper or citizen receiving travelers or visitors 
shall return daily at 8 a. m. the names of such travelers or visitors 
received by them, or the permit before named to the provost-mar- 
shal. 

G. W. Lee, Commanding Post and Provost-Marshal. 

Headquarters Department No. 2. 
Chattanooga, Tenn., Aug. 16, 1862. 
J. M. Calhoun, Atlanta, Ga. : 

Sir: Martial law having been declared at Atlanta, Ga., you 
are hereby appointed civil governor for the same, and the follow- 
ing officers are appointed your aids : Isaac Bartlett, S. B. Oat- 
man, James R. Crew, James E. Williams, E. R. Sasseen, James 
Kelly, William Barnes, John H. Flynn, E. W. Hunnicutt, and F. 
D. Thurman. 

The officers of the army are requested to aid Colonel Calhoun 
in the discharge of his duties. 

General Braxton Bragg. 
J. R. Singleton, Brigadier and Inspector-General. 



Headquarters, Atlanta, Ga., September 9, 1862. 
For the informaton of all concerned, the following special 
•order from the war department is published. 

G. W. Lee, Commanding Post and Pro.-Mar. 



First Years Of The J Tar 175 

Special Orders, Adjutant and Inspector-General's Office, 
A T o. 206. Richmond, Va., Sep. 3, 1862. 

XXII. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is sus- 
pended in Atlanta and for five miles around its corporate limits. 

John Withers, A. A. G. 
By command of the Secretary of War. 



Atlanta, Ga., Sep. 9, 1862. 

From the date of this order no livery stable keeper or other 
person will be permitted to hire a horse or horses or vehicles of 
any kind whatever to any negro slave or free person of color in 
this city or its environs, without a permit from the owner of such 
slave or the guardian of such free person of color, which order 
shall state the business they are going on, and the order shall be 
approved at these headquarters. G. W. Lee. 

At the beginning of 1863 the conscription officers were active 
in Atlanta, and the able-bodied citizen who was able to keep out 
of the army was "smooth," as the expression goes. On the 21st 
of July, 1863, John M. C. Reed, commanding the Fulton county 
militia, issued a call for volunteers from which this paragraph is 
taken : 

"In obedience to instructions received from the commander- 
in-chief, all white men between the ages of eighteen and forty- 
five who are now residents of this county, are hereby commanded 
to appear at the city hall parade ground on Tuesday, the 4th of 
August, by 11 o'clock a. m., to complete the number of troops 
which we are called upon to raise in order to fill the requisition 
made upon the state by the secretary of war for 8,000 men for 
local defense. This county is required to furnish 500 men, rank 
and file." 

It was necessary to draft 667 men in Atlanta and Fulton 
county to make up the quotas of the local military organizations 
by the end of 1863. 

The Georgia Railroad Guards were organized in Atlanta 
September 28, 1863. Its commissioned officers were : Captain, 
James H. Porter; first lieutenant, A. M. Eddleman; second lieu- 
tenant, J. C. Armstead ; third lietuenant, W. C. Anderson. 

On September 6th the Ordnance Guards were organized with 
C. D. Findley, captain ; M. B. Freeman, first lieutenant ; Walter 



176 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Paine, second lieutenant; R. C. Massenbury, third lieutenant. 
This company, 115 strong, was made up of mere boys, not one 
of whom was over eighteen years old. 

The Independent State Road Guards were organized August 
3, 1863, with the following commissioned officers : Captain, Wil- 
liam A. Fuller ; first lieutenant, John P. Mays ; second lieutenant, 
A. S. Bridges ; third lieutenant, R. C. Buchanan. 

The following chapter, taken entire from Wallace Putnam 
Reed's history of Atlanta, to which the compiler of this history 
is indebted for much of his material, describes one of the most 
thrilling incidents preceding the Atlanta campaign, and has a 
direct bearing on local events. The subsequent chapters of this 
volume embrace a thorough and authentic narrative of Sherman's 
advance to and investment and capture of Atlanta. 



CHAPTER XVII 
andrews's railroad raid 

There is no more thrilling story connected with the civil war 
than Andrews's Railroad Raid into Georgia, in 1862. This story 
is condensed from a story written by the Rev. William Pittenger, 
one of the participants in the raid. This work is entitled "Daring 
and Suffering," and is modestly, conscientiously and well written. 

In order to clearly understand this remarkable story, it is 
necessary to take a cursory view of the general condition of mili- 
tary affairs North and South immediately preceding this episode, 
and to gain some knowledge of the two principal characters in the 
expedition, Rev. William Pittenger and James J. Andrews. 

General McClellan in the East with a large army was thought 
to be ready to advance on Richmond. General Grant, in Feb- 
ruary, 1862, had captured Fort Donelson, opening up the way to 
Nashville, which soon afterward fell into the hands of the Federal 
army. General Mitchell, relieved from the immediate supervision 
of General Buell, took his position at Shelby ville, Tenn., where he 
was planning a movement which he expected would place him in 
possession of Chattanooga, then the most vital strategic point in 
that region. The capture of Fort Donelson had driven all the 
Confederate troops out of Kentucky, and they had all been con- 
centrated by General A. S. Johnston in the immediate vicinity of 
Corinth, Miss. 

The military conditions at the beginning of April, 1862, are 
thus concisely summed up by Mr. Pittenger, in the work above 
referred to : 

"The main rebel armies — those of Mississippi and Virginia 

— were united by a chain of railroads running from Memphis 

through Huntsville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Lynchburg to 

Richmond; and this constituted their strong line of defense. 

1 2-1 177 



178 Atlanta And Its Builders 

They had indeed no other railroad communication except a very 
circuitous .and precarious one along the sea coast. At Chatta- 
nooga this direct line was intersected almost at right angles by 
another extending from Nashville to Atlanta, and from there to 
all points of the South. It was the first ohject of the Union 
generals to break this line, and thus to isolate the rebel armies and 
render their defeat easy in detail." 

The object of the expedition, of which a brief narrative is 
here presented, was to sever this chain of railroad communication 
between the main two Confederate armies, that of North Virginia 
and that of the Mississippi. A short biographical sketch of the 
two leading characters in this most daring expedition is here in- 
serted. 

The Rev. William Pittenger was born January 31, 1840, near 
Knoxville, Jefferson county, O. In 1852, his father, Thomas 
Pittenger, removed to a farm which he had recently purchased. 
In ten years from that time by dint of industry and close economy 
he made the last payment on his little farm. During those ten 
years William Pittenger grew up a strong and active young man, 
fond of all kinds of rough and boisterous games. His vision was, 
however, defective, so much so that he could not distinguish the 
letters of his book at a distance of more than three inches from his 
face. He never attempted to distinguish persons by their faces, 
but only by the sound of their voices. 

At the age of fifteen he purchased spectacles, which opened 
up to him a new world. With the naked eye he could see stars of 
not less than the third magnitude, but with his new spectacles the 
magnificence of the starry heavens was revealed. He soon longed 
for the means to see more of the starry heavens ; but having no 
money, and telescopes being expensive, it was necessary 
for him to work for the means to gratify his desires. 
Upon applying for the position of district school teacher, 
he was met by a decided repulse, on account of his 
near-sightedness, the board of examiners of Jefferson county 
thinking him too near-sighted to manage a school filled with un- 
ruly children. He was then not quite sixteen, and a few months 
later when he had become accustomed to his spectacles he made 
another attempt, and was this time successful in obtaining certifi- 



Andrews's Railroad Raid 179 

cates to teach. Almost the first thing done with the money thus 
earned was the purchase of a telescope, or rather the materials out 
of which an impromptu telescope was constructed. This tele- 
scope was of great power, showing clearly all the objects com- 
monly described in astronomical works. But Mr. Pittenger re- 
quired nearly twice as much instrumental power as those who had 
good eyes, and was thus prevented from becoming a professional 
astronomer. 

Two years later Mr. Pittenger was engaged in teaching a 
private school near Ravenna, O. Although this was much pleas- 
anter than teaching miscellaneous public schools and indi- 
cated that the life of the educator might be made enjoyable, yet 
he soon gave it up for journalism, uniting with Alexander Clark, 
another Jefferson county school teacher, in the publication of the 
"School-day Visitor," Cleveland, O. This periodical, although 
fairly successful, was afterward absorbed in the Scribner's St. 
Nicholas. 

Mr. Pittenger then became a teacher in Illinois, and after- 
ward returned to Ohio, and there made some attempts to establish 
himself in the business of a photographer ; but lacking the neces- 
sary capital he again entered the field of the pedagogue. He 
would have voted for Mr. Lincoln for president in i860, had he 
been old enough to do so, but as it was he contented himself with 
exerting himself to the extent of his ability to secure his election. 
When it was predicted that in case Mr. Lincoln was elected there 
would be war between the North and South, he did not deny such 
an event might occur, but insisted that the war, should one come, 
would be short, that the abolition of slavery would be the result, 
and expressed a willingness to enlist in the Union army. His 
father readily gave his consent to his son becoming a soldier, 
because he did not believe there would be a war, and if there was 
one he was satisfied that young William would not be received as 
a soldier on account of his defective vision. Mr. Pittenger was 
reading law under engagement with a legal firm at Steubenville, 
O., when Ft. Sumter was fired upon, and at once secured his re- 
lease from his contract, and enlisted in the Union army for three 
months. His company was sent to Washington, and although 
the company's time was about to expire, it was sent to the front 



180 Atlanta And Its Builders 

when the Bull Run movement was made. Immediately afterward 
he re-enlisted in the Second Regiment of the Ohio Volunteers, 
which was attached to the Western Army as a part of General 
O. M. Mitchell's division, which, early in April, 1862, was at 
Shelbyville, Tenn. 

This brings this story down to the first attempt to carry out 
the design of capturing a locomotive on the Southern railroad, 
and it is now necessary to briefly sketch the career of James J. 
Andrews. Of him it is said that had he lived he could scarcely 
have failed to have made his mark upon the history of his times. 
Very little is known of his early history, but two years before the 
breaking out of the war he made his appearance at Flemingsburg, 
in northeastern Kentucky. He said he had come from western 
Virginia, and that he was looking for a place to "locate." Seeing 
the name "Andrews'' on a store sign, he inquired if there were 
many persons of that name in town. Learning that there was a 
goodly number of that name among the people, he said he thought 
he would make his home there for a while at least. At first he 
tried to find a situation as a teacher, but being unsuccessful in this, 
he engaged in house and ornamental painting. His appearance 
and manner were prepossessing. He was a fine singer. He 
taught singing classes evenings and became a general favorite 
among the people of the town. 

Upon the breaking out of the war, Kentucky tried the experi- 
ment of keeping out of the struggle by assuming a position of 
armed neutrality, that is by enrolling a large number of men as a 
State guard, not to be called into active service unless the sacred 
soil of the State should be invaded either by the Federal or Con- 
federate forces, and in either case the State guard should be used 
to repel the invaders. Andrews joined the Union cause, and as 
the excitement put a stop to house and ornamental painting, he 
became a clerk in a hotel. Soon he made a trip to Louisville, and 
upon his return to the little town of Flemingsburg he said he had 
been appointed United States provost-marshal, and proceeded to 
perform the duties of that office. 

Toward the close of March, 1862, Andrews had a consulta- 
tion with General Buell, in which he proposed to conduct a small 
party of men, disguised as Southerners, as far south as Atlanta, 



Andrews s Railroad Raid 181 

where they would meet a friend of his who was running a locomo- 
tive on the State railroad. They would take passage on this train 
and when a certain point was reached they would seize the loco- 
motive, cut the telegraph wires behind them, and then steam back, 
burning the principal bridges in their rear, and thus for a time 
sever the communications of the Confederates at Chattanooga and 
their comrades further south. Eight men were found willing to 
volunteer in this scheme of Andrews's, but nothing came of the 
raid, because they failed to find the train which they were to seize. 
They all returned safely, however, in a few days. 

Before many weeks he let it be understood that his views had 
undergone a change, and at once went to Nashville, where he 
became a great favorite with the leading Confederate officers. 
He made a proposition of entering into the business of getting 
from the Union lines such articles as the Confederate service stood 
most in need, especially quinine. With this object in view he 
formed a kind of partnership with a wealthy merchant in Nash- 
ville, who furnished him with a large sum of money for the pur- 
pose. As a "blockade runner" he was recognized and welcomed 
at all Confederate posts. But it is now quite certain that all this 
time he was in the service of the federal officers. On one occasion 
he visited Fort Donelson, and gaining a knowledge of the strength 
of the defense, and making an accurate map of the works, rode 
sixty miles in one night to carry the information to General 
Buell. 

All of these eight men were from the regiment in General 
Mitchell's division to which Mr. Pittenger belonged, and instead 
of going to Nashville, Andrews went to Shelbyville, where Pit- 
tenger was, and laid before him a scheme which was far more 
wide-reaching in its character. This conference occurred at Gen- 
eral Mitchell's tent on the night of April 6, 1863; neither of the 
parties was aware, however, that this night was to be so famous. 
Generals Johnston and Beauregard had made their bold dash 
against General Grant's position at Pittsburgh Landing, and in 
order to interrupt the communications of the Confederate armies 
in their rear, the plan was laid as an expedition, the details of 
which had not been made fully known. But twenty-four men, 
•carefully picked out. were to be asked to volunteer for a secret 



182 Atlanta And Its Builders 

expedition of much more than ordinary importance and danger. 
Pittenger had in some way formed a conjecture as to the reason 
for the detailing of the eight men from his regiment, who had 
previously gone out with Andrews, and had special reasons for 
wishing to be one of the party, should a similar expedition ever be 
set on foot. He thus states what those reasons were : 

"My position in Company G — James F. Sarratt. Captain — 
was then that of first corporal, and I was looking anxiously for 
promotion to the next grade of non-commissioned officers — that 
of sergeant. To a civilian these petty grades seem utterly unim- 
portant and undistinguishable. but they are not so to the soldier. 
On many a lonely guard line and dark night on picket they make 
all the difference between being commanded and commanding. 
A sergeant had died, and his place would naturally become mine 
unless some one below me was considered more meritorious, in 
which case the captain had the authority to carry him, whether a 
lower corporal or a private, over my head to the vacant ser- 
geantcy. 

"Surles, one of the missing men, happened to be second 
corporal — a splendid soldier in every respect, competent to fill 
any position in the company, and a great friend to the captain. I 
had heard that he might be preferred to me, if for no other reason 
than because I was near-sighted. Now some of the members of 
my army mess said : 'Pittenger. when these men come back with 
feathers in their caps, the captain will be sure to make Surles a 
sergeant." At the first opportunity I called Captain Sarratt aside, 
and told him what I had heard and my own fears. He assured 
me, somewhat impatiently, that my rights should be cared for, and 
added : 'Pittenger, this is a very little matter of yours. I only 
wish the men were back in the camp again.' 'But where are 
they?' I asked, 'and when will they be back? I would like to 
know something about it. especially for Mills's sake.' 'I am not 
permitted to tell anything,' he responded. T don't know when 
they will be back myself ; but I know that till they do come I can't 
sleep much.' 

"The look of weariness on his face smote my heart, and in 
view of such anxiety my errand looked utterly contemptible. But 
my own uneasiness in another direction was greatly increased, and 



Andrews's Railroad Raid 183 

when I left him with sincere apologies, it was with the resolve to 
find out where those men were. Captain David Mitchell, of Com- 
pany D, was an intimate friend of mine and a distant relative of 
our commander. His company had supplied one of the missing 
adventurers, my cousin, B. F. Mills, who had been my messmate 
during the three months' service terminating with the battle of 
Bull Run. It was especially for his sake that I felt such solicitude 
for the missing men ; and this, even more than my own interest, 
had moved me to speak with Captain Sarratt. I resolved to make 
an attempt on Mitchell, with stronger hopes of success." 

These events occurred some days before the conference be- 
tween Andrews and General Mitchell, at which the new raid was 
concerted. The result of all was that Pittenger received a pro- 
mise that if any new men were sent within the enemy's lines, he 
should be the first one called on. On the night of Monday, April 
7th, orders were sent to the colonels of the three Ohio regiments 
to have a man selected from each company, "for special and haz- 
ardous service," the men to have the option of declining if they 
saw fit. All of those engaged in the first raid had now returned 
to camp, but none of them would volunteer for the second raid. 
A week was spent in making all the arrangements necessary for 
fitting out the twenty-four men for their expedition. Besides 
Andrews and Pittenger there are two who require special mention. 
These were Wilson W. Brown and William Knight, both of 
whom were fully competent to act as engineers when they should 
have seized upon a locomotive, which was the first actual measure 
to be attempted upon arriving at the scene of operation. Andrews 
appointed a place at some distance from the camp as a rendezvous 
at nightfall, in order that he might give the men some necessary 
instructions. Andrews is thus described by Pittenger : 

"Andrews was now in the prime of manhood, being about 
thirty-three years of age, six feet in height, a little stooped when 
not excited, weight about one hundred and ninety pounds, with 
strong and regular features, very clear complexion, an eye dark 
grey and penetrating, very abundant black hair, and a fine long- 
silken beard, slightly waved. He gave to everyone the impression 
of gentleness and strength. His voice was very soft and musical, 
almost effeminate, never strong, yet with distinctness and firm- 
ness of tone which made it well suit the men." 



184 Atlanta And Its Builders 

At the rendezvous Andrews stated the object of the expedi- 
tion, of which the men had been informed only in general terms. 
He told them if they were detected by the enemy while in dis- 
guise, they would probably be massacred at once, or be hung as 
spies, and if any of them wished to withdraw, he was at perfect 
liberty to return to camp. Then, in a quiet conversational tone, 
he proceeded to give his instructions, which Mr. Pittenger quotes 
as follows : 

"You will break up into small squads of two, three or four, 
and travel east into the Cumberland Mountains, then south to the 
Tennessee River. You can cross the river and take passage on 
the cars at Shell Mound, or some station between that and Chatta- 
nooga, on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. You must be 
at Chattanooga not later than Thursday afternoon, and reach 
Marietta the same evening, ready to take passage on the train the 
next morning. I will be there with you or before you, and will 
then tell you what to do. 

"The road is long and difficult, and you will have only three 
days and nights to reach Marietta. I will give you plenty of 
money, and you may hire conveyances whenever safe and conven- 
ient. I will ride along the same road that you are to travel — 
sometimes behind and sometimes before — will give you any assist- 
ance in my power. If you should be arrested, I may have influ- 
ence to secure your release ; but depend on yourselves, and be 
watchful and prudent. Do not recognize me unless sure that we 
are alone. 

"If you are asked who you are, and why you are going south, 
the most plausible thing to say will be that you are Kentuckians, 
and that you are escaping from the rule of the Yankees, and that 
you expect to join some Southern regiment. Say just as little as 
will carry you through, and always have some reason for not join- 
ing just then. After you get into the mountains you will be on 
the track of the Kentuckians who travel south, and will seem to 
be coming from there rather than from the Union Army ; so you 
need not have much trouble. 

"If you are completely cornered, and they will not believe 
your stories, don't hesitate to enlist. It will be far better to serve 
a little while with the rebels than to run the risk of discovering our 



Andrews's Railroad Raid 185 

plans by holding out. You can probably get away from them 
some dark night on picket. You are fully authorized to take any 
course that seems best. There will not be the least trouble about 
your being allowed to join their army ; the difficulty is to keep out 
of the Southern army, not to get into it. Stick to whatever story 
you tell ; and so long as they do not get any proof that you are 
Union soldiers, they will be ready to hurry you into service, even 
if they don't believe a word you say. as the best way of disposing 
of you." 

Pittenger did not apprehend much difficulty in getting as far 
as they wished into the Southern country ; the difficulty he appre- 
hended was to their getting out of it. He asked whether, after 
they had captured the train and had used it in burning the bridges, 
they were to be abandoned, and try to steal North as they were 
now stealing toward the South. To this question Andrews gave 
the explicit answer : "No, General Mitchell starts South in the 
morning for a forced march with all his energy, and he will sur- 
prise and capture Huntsville on Friday, the very day we are to 
capture the train, so that when we get back to that point we shall 
find him ready to receive us. If we cannot quite reach him, we 
will leave the trains close to our lines and dash through in a body." 
Other questions were asked and answered. Supposing they 
should fail to run the captured train through Chattanooga, were 
they to cling together, etc. Andrews answered emphatically : 
"When we once meet in Marietta we will stay together, and either 
come through in a body or die together." The company was then 
told off into squads to proceed on their journey, after which 
Andrews addressed to them the following parting words : "Boys, 
we are entering into a very hazardous expedition, but it will be a 
glorious one in its results, and we will give the enemy the most 
deadly blow he has yet received. What a grand thing it will be 
to run through the South, leaving the bridges burning, and the foe 
helpless in our hands! If we burn these bridges, Mitchell will 
capture Chattanooga the very next day, and all East Tennessee 
will be open before him. But we must be prompt, for if he gets 
to Huntsville before us, the road will be so crowded with rein- 
forcements moving against him that our task will be much harder. 
But if we have the bridges down first, they can send no force 



1 86 Atlanta And Its Builders 

against him, and he will have everything his own way. The last 
train leaves Chattanooga at five in the afternoon. Be sure and 
catch it not later than Thursday, and I will be either on it, or on 
an earlier one. Good-bye." 

It now began to rain in torrents. The squads filed off one 
after another, with a considerable interval between them, so that 
no two squads should be very near each other until they should all 
come together at Marietta. Pittenger's squad consisted of four, 
and as they plodded along the railroads through the rain and 
darkness, he turned around, and, by the aid of a vivid flash of 
lightning, caught a momentary glimpse of Andrews and three 
others looking after them. In an instant all was darkness, he 
turned around again, and they groped their way along the railroad 
as best they could. 

For some time they met with no serious difficulty. To all 
they encountered they told the story which had been agreed upon 
— that they were Kentuckians going southward for the purpose of 
joining the Confederate army as soon as they should fall in with 
a regiment the appearance of which they liked. They started on 
Monday night. By noon on Thursday they reached the little 
town of Jasper, where they heard the first tidings of the battle of 
Shiloh. According to the reports current at Jasper it was a great 
Confederate victory, and the combined armies of Grant and Buell 
had been totally destroyed. One countryman averred that five 
hundred gunboats had been sunk. Pittenger expressed some 
doubts as to whether the Yankees had so many gunboats as five 
hundred, but the countryman's faith remained unshaken. An- 
other bit of news had been picked up — that the Merrimac had 
steamed out of Norfolk and engaged the Monitor, with no decided 
result at first, but had at length thrown out her grappling irons, 
caught the Monitor and dragged her ashore, where she lay of 
course an easy prey — and now that the Confederates had the two 
best gunboats afloat they could easily raise the blockade and burn 
the northern cities one after another. 

As they approached Chattanooga, squad after squad came in 
sight of each other, but they met as perfect strangers. Andrews 
was encountered by one party after another, but no sign of recog- 
nition was exchanged. On account of various causes of delay 



Andrews's Railroad Raid 187 

they did not reach Marietta on Thursday as had been agreed upon, 
but on Friday. The seizure of the train had been fixed for that 
day, but Andrews postponed it until Saturday, a day which was 
fraught with serious consequences. General Mitchell was on time 
with his movement on Huntsville on Friday, but the bridges be- 
hind him were not burned, and the attempt on Chattanooga had to 
be postponed or abandoned. 

. Saturday morning, April 12, came. Before the train for 
Chattanooga started for Marietta all the members of the party, 
now twenty-two in number, were collected in Andrews's room in 
the hotel to receive a last word of direction. Big Shanty, the 
next station, was the spot where the train, by which they were to 
proceed, was to be seized, and the work was to begin. The train 
stopped for breakfast, and there was no telegraph office there. 
Andrews's directions were brief and to the point. "When the 
train stops for breakfast, keep your places until I tell you to go. 
Get seats near each other in the same car, and say nothing about 
the matter on the way up. If anything unexpected occurs look to 
me for a word. You and you," designating three engineers and 
a fireman, "will go with me on the engine; all of the rest will go 
on the left of the train forward of where it is is uncoupled, and 
climb on the cars, in the best places you can, when the order is 
given. If anybody interferes with you shoot him; but don't fire 
until it is necessary." 

When the train came up it was found to consist of the loco- 
motive and several close box-cars, into which all the raiders made 
haste to crowd themselves, each armed with his revolver for in- 
stant use; for should the train happen to be guarded while the 
passengers were at breakfast, the guard must be overpowered. 

"Twenty minutes for breakfast," shouted the conductor, as 
Big Shanty was reached. Conductor, engineer, fireman and most 
of the passengers made a rush for the long shed, which served as 
an eating room, and from which the station (now called Kene- 
saw) took its name. No guard was left for the train, but a large 
body of Confederate soldiers, three or four regiments, it seemed, 
were encamped here, and the sentries were pacing to and 
fro around the station. For some time, short in real- 
ity, but long apparently, Andrews, who was seated near 



1 88 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the door, made no signal. At last he quietly arose 
and left the car, followed closely by one of the engin- 
eers belonging to his party. The two walked slowly to the 
locomotive which bore the name of ''General." No one was 
within. Andrews gave a slight nod to his companion, saying, 
"Uncouple here and wait for me." He then went back to the 
box-car and opened the door, saying softly, "Come on boys, it's 
time to go now." All arose and followed him. 

The movement attracted no attention from the few other 
passengers who remained in the car. Knight, the engineer who 
accompanied Andrews forward, sprang upon the locomotive, cut 
the bell-rope, and stood with his hand on the throttle-valve. An- 
drews stood for a moment or two watching until all his men were 
in one of the two cars which still remained attached to the loco- 
motive. Two other engineers and a fireman mounted the en- 
gine, followed by Andrews, who nodded to Knight. The steam 
was let on and the engine dashed up the road. Not a shot by the 
soldiers, who did not recover their guns from their amazement 
until the short train was beyond the range of their guns. 

The train had scarcely gone a mile, however, when the speed 
began to slacken, and soon it came to a full stop. When the train 
had been halted at Big Shanty, the dampers of the engine furnace 
had been closed, and they had not been opened when the start was 
made, hence the fire was soon almost out. The engine had been 
running by the steam stored up in the boilers. Fresh wood and 
a little oil soon put matters to rights and they were soon under 
way again, with time enough to obstruct the track in the rear and 
to cut the telegraph wires. When they were fairly on their way 
again, Andrews broke out in a joyful shout : "We have got them 
at such a disadvantage that they cannot harm us or save them- 
selves. When we have passed one more train, we'll have no fur- 
ther hindrance. Then we will put the engine at full speed, burn 
the bridges after us, dash through Chattanooga, and on to 
Mitchell at Huntsville. We have the upper hand of the rebels for 
once." There was indeed, as he well knew, three trains already 
coming toward him then from Chattanooga. The first of these 
was a local freight, which might be met at any point this side of 
Kingston. This was apparently the only obstacle in the way, 



Andrews s Railroad Raid 189 

for the others were running on time, and he knew just where they 
should be at any minute, so he could meet and pass them at any 
given station, if he were far ahead of his own time. 

Andrews had calculated that no engine for pursuit could be 
nearer to Big Shanty than Kingston, thirty miles to the north, or 
Atlanta, about the same distance to the south. The telegraph 
wires being cut, the enemy could communicate with Kingston only 
by sending messages on horseback. This would take three or four 
hours, by which time he would be far out of reach. They might 
and doubtless would telegraph back to Atlanta, whence an engine 
might be started at once ; but the raiders would have a start of 
thirty minutes, forty or fifty miles, which would give them ample 
time to do their work as they proceeded. 

The running time as calculated by Andrews, would be thus : 
Kingston would be reached in a couple of hours, and by that time, 
the local freight would have been passed. Then they would put 
on full steam at Resaca, twenty-four miles distant. The bridge 
at Resaca would be burned, as well as eleven others which crossed 
the winding Chickamauga at short distances apart. Then they 
would dash on to Chattanooga, switch off to the railroad running 
to Huntsville, between which place and Chattanooga they ex- 
pected to meet General Mitchell. 

For some distance all worked precisely as had been intended. 
When they came to Etowah station, half way between Big Shanty 
and Kingston, they saw an engine of which they knew nothing, 
standing on a side track, which connected with a short road run- 
ning some five miles to the Etowah Iron Works. This as after- 
ward appeared was the Yona, a locomotive capable of great speed, 
belonging to the proprietors of the iron works, and used by them 
in their own business. The smoke issuing from the funnel indi- 
cated that she could be set in motion at short notice. The en- 
gineer suggested to Andrews the destruction of that engine, but 
Andrews said, "No, it won't make any difference." But it did 
make a great difference, for to that engine was owing the capture 
of the raiders a few hours later. 

Half a dozen miles farther on is Cass station, the regular 
place for taking on wood and water, for which purpose they 
stopped. The station tender was somewhat surprised to see so 



190 Atlanta And Its Builders 

slmrt a train running on the regular time of the mail train with 
none of the regular hands and no passengers. But Andrews had 
a plausible story ready to account for this. He said that he had 
been sent to Atlanta by Beauregard, who was at Corinth in the 
sore straits of want of ammunition. His order was to press any 
train, load it with powder, and hurry through with all possible 
speed. Andrews looked so much like a southern officer and 
spoke with an air of so much authority, that the suspicions of the 
station tender were dissipated at once. He then coolly asked for 
a time schedule of the road, with the remark, "I would send my 
shirt to Beauregard if he needed it." Subsequently, when asked if 
his suspicions were not aroused by such an unusual request, he re- 
plied. "No, I would as soon have suspected Jefferson Davis him- 
self as a man who talked with the assurance that Andrews did." 

Kingston was reached a little ahead of time. The local 
freight had not yet arrived. Andrews quietly directed the switch 
tender to shunt him off on a side track until this freight train 
should have passed. He had then only to repeat his story about 
Beauregard and his powder, with a wave of his hand toward his 
closed box car, which, instead of ammunition, was freighted with 
all the raiders, except the three who were with him on the loco- 
motive. The engineer took advantage of this enforced delay to 
see that the engine was in perfect order, and that she had a full 
head of steam on. The men in the box car could only guess what 
was going on outside. 

It was not long before the freight train came down. An- 
drews spoke coolly to the conductor, repeating the same story 
about the powder, urging the importance of dispatch and asking 
him to run a little down the track road so that the powder train 
might be switched back upon the track. But a moment after he 
noticed a red flag on the rear car, the signal that another train 
was close behind. "What does this mean?" he asked, "I am 
ordered to get the powder train through to Beauregard at the 
earliest possible moment ; and now you are signaling to another 
train on the track !" The conductor was very sorry, but it could 
not be helped. Mitchell was moving on Chattanooga by forced 
marches, there was no force there capable of resisting him, and 
as they were running every possible train out of Chattanooga, and 



Andrews's Railroad Raid 191 

he had to put on an extra train to get the rolling stock as well as 
the goods out of the way. Andrews professed to be perfectly 
satisfied, but added, "I must be off at the earliest possible moment ; 
do you run a good piece down the road so as to leave room for the 
extra train to pass." "But what will you do about Mitchell at 
Huntsville?" asked the conductor. "I don't believe the story," 
replied Andrews, "Mitchell would not be fool enough to run 
down there; but if he is, Beauregard will soon sweep him out of 
the road. At any rate I have my orders.'' 

But when the extra train came in it also had a red flag flying 
at the rear. The conductor explained that the train, as it was 
made up. was found to be too heavy for one engine, so that it had 
to be divided, and the last section would be here presently. An- 
drews gave whispered instructions to Knight, who sauntered 
down to the box car, against which he leaned without turning his 
face toward it. "Boys," he said in a low voice, "we have to wait 
for a train that is a little behind time, and the folks around here 
are getting mighty uneasy and suspicious. Be ready to jump out 
if you are called, and let them have it hot and fast." 

All these delays consumed a little more than an hour. Then 
this additional train came in. The powder train was switched 
upon its proper track and was soon upon its way. It was now 
three hours and five minutes since they had seized the train at Big 
Shanty, only thirty miles distant, but at last the road was clear 
for them. "Push her, boys, push," said Andrews. The next 
station was Adairsville, ten miles distant. Here they halted for 
a few moments to take on fuel, to cut the telegraph wires, and to 
tear up a few rails, so as to delay any pursuer. Onward they 
went past Calhoun to Resaca, where the Oostonaula was crossed 
by a long bridge which, if destroyed, would effectually bar the 
road behind them. This was especially necessary, for it had been 
almost certain for some little time that they were pursued, and 
from the increasing loudness of the whistle it was clear that the 
pursuers were gaining upon them. Who the pursuers were and 
whence they came may now be told, although Andrews did not 
then know. 

When the halt at Big Shanty was made, William A. Fuller, 
the Confederate conductor of the train, Mr. Cain, the engineer, 



192 Atlanta And Its Builders 

and Anthony Murphy, the foreman of the railroad shops, seated 
themselves near each other at the table. Before they began to 
eat, the noise of escaping steam and the whir of moving wheels 
on the track was heard, accompanied by an outcry from the camp 
guards. The guards had not noticed the eighteen men who en- 
tered the box car — they saw only the four men who had climbed 
upon the locomotive. Fuller had been ordered to see that no con- 
scripts should get away from this camp on the train. He jumped 
instantly to the conclusion that it was a party of these conscripts 
who had run off with his engine. "Some of these men," he said, 
"one of whom happened to know enough about an engine to pull 
the throttle open, have jumped on my train to get out of the camp, 
and as soon as they are outside they will leave the engine and run 
into the mountains. I must follow as fast as possible, and try 
to get it back before I get very badly out of time." Calling out 
to Murphy and Cain to come on with him. all three started off at 
the top of their speed. Fuller was by far the best runner of the 
three, and all were soon stretched out at some distance apart along 
the track. Fuller was pretty well blown when he reached 
Moon's station, two miles from Big Shanty. Here he found 
a hand car used by some track repairers. He was well 
known, and taking possession of this hand car, ran it back 
until he met his friends, who were taken up. It was what 
they call a "pole car," that is, one propelled by stout poles, instead 
of by a crank. By hard work they could make seven or eight 
miles an hour on a level grade, much more on a descending, much 
less on an ascending grade. The regular running time of the 
steam trains was then about sixteen miles per hour. A few miles 
farther on they made an accession of two more men, and were told 
that the captors were oiling their engine in a manner which 
showed they understood their work and that they had a long trip 
in view. If nothing happened the pole car would reach Etowah 
in about two hours. "Then," said Fuller, "if we can find the old 
'Yonah' at the end of the branch, we can take her and run up to 
Kingston in fifteen minutes more. There are some extra trains 
on the road to-day that will bother the scoundrels up there and 
the chances are that we shall overhaul them at Kingston, where 
we shall get plenty of help." 



Andreivs's Railroad Raid 193 

But just before reaching Etowah they came nearly to grief. 
The raiders had taken up a rail, and before the pursuers knew 
anything about it, they found themselves and the pole car lying in 
a heap beside the track. When they had gotten the car back 
upon the track they could see the smoke of the 'Yonah' a mile dis- 
tant. She had not started, and they might get up in time to se- 
cure her. They were just in time with not a minute to spare. 
Here their party was increased by a number of well-armed men. 
When they reached Kingston they learned that the 'Yonah' had 
already gone up the road. At Adairsville they found that An- 
drews had left only a few minutes before. A northward train 
came up the cross road, drawn by the best engine on the road, 
named the 'Texas.' 

Fuller and Murphy were recognized and sprang aboard, tak- 
ing the command, and in spite of some obstructions gained upon 
the foe, of whom they caught sight at Resaca, endeavoring to set 
fire to the bridge in a drenching rain. But upon sight of their 
pursuers they set off again. 

It was soon clear that the pursuers had the swiftest engine. 
The only hope of escape lay in placing obstructions on the track 
so as to prevent its running at a pace as rapid as that they were 
able to make. There was no time to halt and tear up a rail here 
and there. The end of the box car was therefore knocked out; 
the heavy ties which they were using for fuel were brought into 
this car and pitched on the track, but most of them struck endwise 
and bounded off. Enough, however, remained to compel the 
pursuers to proceed with great caution, and every now and then 
to get off and remove the obstructions. Pittenger says : "Fuller 
could not run rapidly in the face of such a succession of obstacles. 
He did the best he could, giving the signal to reverse whenever he 
saw a tie upon the track, jumping off and removing it and on 
again, when the engineer would start with a full head of steam, 
and reduce speed as the engine gathered headway, to such a speed 
as would enable it to be stopped when another tie was seen. It 
was fearfully perilous, and the only wonder is that it was not 
wrecked long before the chase was done." 

By using their fuel the quantity was rapidly diminished. But 
Andrews, who seemed to have made himself familiar with every 

13-1 



194 Atlanta And Its Builders 

mile of the road, knew that they were approaching a wood sta- 
tion, and here they must at all hazards stop long enough to take 
on fuel. The very last stick was in the furnace when they reached 
the wood pile. Every man sprang from the train, and worked 
for very life; but before the tender was half full they heard the 
noise of the pursuing train. For a few minutes they kept at 
their work, and even when Andrews had given orders to get on 
board, Wilson, the fireman, would not obey until he had brought 
one huge armful more. Wilson says : "We had secured but a 
partial supply when the chasing train came in sight, loaded with 
armed soldiers. Our pursuers were worked up to an infuriated 
pitch of excitement, and rent the air with their screeches and yells 
when they came in sight of us, like dogs when the quarry is 
sprung. They opened upon us at long range with musketry. 
The bullets rattled around us like hail, but fortunately none of us 
were hit." "But now," says Pittenger, "we had a good head of 
steam, and with a joyful bound of the engine, as if refreshed from 
rest, sped on again. We had been careful to so obstruct the 
track that the enemy was obliged to come to a full halt, and thus 
give us time to get out of sight. But water was needed for the 
engine as well as fuel, and the water station was some distance 
from the wood station. Here we stopped, told the old powder 
story, and we were not interrupted while taking in water. "Be- 
fore the tank was full," says Pittenger. "the pursuers came in 
sight, but, seeing us, ran slowly, and as a party of our men had run 
back and put some obstructions upon the track, they were obliged 
to come to a full stop there, thus giving us the time needed. Then 
we mounted and sped toward Dalton. The engine again was 
in good running condition, and we rushed rapidly forward, put- 
ting frequent obstructions upon the tracks, mostly by dropping 
ties or sticks of firewood." 

Dalton was passed without the pursuers again coming in 
sight. Not many miles ahead were the Chickamauga bridges. 
If these, or even one of them, could be burned, the race was won. 
Fuller understood this as well as did Andrews. "On he pressed," 
says Pittenger, "yet but for the wetness of the day all of his ef- 
forts would have been foiled. Andrews now ordered us to fire 
our last car while running, the other having been already cut off. 



Andrews's Railroad Raid 195 

It was easily said, but was much harder to do. The rain fell in 
torrents and the wood in the tender was drenched. It was by 
no small degree of effort that the engine fire could be kept at the 
heat required for fast running. But desperate fingers tore every- 
thing combustible loose from the car and smashed it into kindling. 
Some blazing faggots were stolen from the engine and the 
fire made to burn. All but one, who was left on the car to watch 
the fire, crowded on the tender and the locomotive. The steam 
was gradually shut off that we might come slowly on the bridge, 
and be able to leave the burning car just at the right place. We 
came at a full stop at the first Chickamauga bridge, a large and 
well covered structure. Knowing that a wood station was not 
far off we added almost the last of our oil, and nearly the last 
stick of wood to the burning mass. In fact we put life itself in 
the last throw, and left ourselves in case of failure, hopelessly 
bankrupt." 

The raiders had indeed made their last throw and lost. The 
smoke of the pursuing engine was close at hand. The enemy 
had the advantage of being armed with guns, and would be able 
to fire on the raiders at long range, while they had only revolvers. 
The coupling pin was withdrawn, and the slowly burning car was 
detached from the engine. The pursuers dashed into the thick 
smoke that covered the bridge, and pushed the burning car on to 
Ringgold, but a short distance ahead, where it was left to smoke 
and sputter on a side track in the rain. The "General" crept 
slowly on until within about five miles of Chattanooga. Here 
the fuel gave out. 

"Every combustible scrap," says Pittenger, "had been care- 
fully gathered up and thrown into the engine. Even a large pair 
of saddlebags, which we had never seen Andrews without from 
the time of the midnight conference at Marietta, together with his 
cap and some other pieces of clothing which he did not need for 
immediate use, had been remorselessly cast into the furnace. 
Various papers went along, which were probably documents that 
he feared would compromise himself and others in case of cap- 
ture. 

But the engine was coming to a stop. Andrews gave his 
last order to the men huddled together in the empty wood box of 



196 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the tender : ''Jump off, one by one, scatter in the woods, and each 
man try to work his own way back into the Union army." The 
pursuers were again hard upon them. The men sprang from the 
engine as best they could, and the great "railroad" raid was over. 

Pittenger says that he was neither among the first nor the 
last to jump from the locomotive; but not jumping forward, as he 
should have done, he was whirled over and over on hands and 
feet several times before he could straighten himself up. He 
then looked around and saw others fleeing in all directions, and 
the soldiers pouring out of the pursuing train in all directions 
many rods away. He could hear their shouts, and soon after- 
ward the firing of their guns. He tried in vain to overtake some 
of his comrades, but had to make his way alone. His flight was 
full of incident, but he was captured on the afternoon of the third 
day. All the others were also captured, some a little earlier, 
some a little later. He was taken to Chattanooga, where he was 
sharply examined by General Ledbetter. The examination 
closed thus : "Your leader's name is Andrews," said the general ; 
"what kind of a man is he?" "I can tell you one thing about 
him," was the reply, "and that is, he is a man you will never 
catch." "That will do for you," said the general with a grim 
smile, and turning to an officer who stood by, he said, "Take him 
to the hole; you know where that is." 

When Pittenger passed out of the room he saw Andrews at 
the door, heavily ironed, and two others, but no sign of recogni- 
tion passed between them. The "hole" was a little building 
originally designed as a negro prison. They went up an outside 
stairway and entered a small room directly under the roof, in 
which was a half dozen miserable looking men. "Where shall 
I put him?" asked the jailer. "Below, of course," replied the 
officer. 

"The jailer advanced," says Pittenger, "to the middle of the 
room, and kneeling down, took a large key from his pocket, and 
applying it to a hole in the floor gave it a turn, and then, with 
great effort, raised a ponderous trap door at my feet. A rush of 
hot air, and a stifling stench, as from the mouth of a pit, smote 
me in the face, and I involuntarily turned backward, but the bay- 
onets of the guards were behind and there was no escape. The 



Andrews's Railroad Raid 197 

ladder was then thrust down, and long as it was, it no more than 
penetrated the great depth. The wretches, whom I could hear 
murmuring confusedly below, were ordered to stand from under, 
and I was compelled to descend into what seemed to me more like 
the infernal regions than any place on earth. It was hard to find 
the steps of the ladder, and I had my handcuffs on, but went 
down feeling for each step, to a depth of some fifteen feet. I 
stepped off the ladder, treading on human beings I could not dis- 
cern. Then the ladder was slowly drawn up, and in a moment 
more, the trap fell with a dull and heavy sound, and every ray 
of light vanished. I was shut up in a living tomb — -buried alive. 

The room was without an entrance except the trap door. 
Instead of windows there were two holes in the thick wall, not 
more than a foot square, and having two rows of iron bars. Air 
and light were admitted only through these two holes. When 
Pittenger entered there were fifteen prisoners, most of them 
Union men from various parts of East Tennessee ; some of them 
had been there from six to eight months. Four others were soon 
added, and not long after these, three more, Andrews and his two 
companions, making twenty-two in all, shut up in a dungeon 
about thirty feet square, and about the same height. In the course 
of a few days all the raiders were brought in, the original prison- 
ers being removed elsewhere to make room for them, so that for 
several weeks the number in the hole was twenty-two, all of whom 
were closely ironed ; food and water being grudgingly doled out 
to them. 

Late in April a court martial was convened for the trial of 
Andrews, but the finding of the court was not announced for 
several weeks. Not long after it was announced to the prisoners 
that twelve of them were to be taken to Knoxville; and nine others 
were to remain at Chattanooga. Andrews bade farewell to those 
who were to go. "Boys," said he, "if I never meet you here 
again, try to meet me on the other side of Jordan." Pittenger 
was one of those sent to Knoxville. 

In June those who remained at Chattanooga made a desper- 
ate attempt to escape. One man standing on the shoulders of two 
others, succeeded in cutting a hole through the planks overhead, 
and gaining access to the loft, where they dug a hole through the 



198 Atlanta And Its Builders 

brick wall. They had twisted their clothes into a rope by which 
to let themselves clown the outside. Andrews and Wollam went 
first, and he and Wollam got down and were off. Just then the 
guards were aroused and began to fire. The others crept back 
into the hole. Andrews and Wollam were hotly pursued, and 
both were recaptured on that and the following day. Andrews 
was thrust back into the "hole." Iron shackles were riveted on 
his ankles, connected by a stout chain only eighteen inches long. 
It was announced to him that the sentence of death, pronounced 
by the court martial, had been confirmed, and would be carried 
into effect on the fourth day. 

But for some reason not clearly ascertained, it was decided 
that he be brought to Atlanta for execution. He reached here 
about noon on the 7th of June. In a few hours he was conducted 
to the place of execution, out on Peachtree street, opposite where 
Colonel William J. Speer now lives. O. H. Holms was then mar- 
shal of Atlanta, and served as executioner. Quite a large number 
of spectators were on the ground. A shallow grave was dug near 
by in which the body was cast. In 1887 the spot was identified, 
and the remains of Andrews, by order of the national government, 
were exhumed and taken to the national cemetery at Chattanooga. 

In the meantime a court-martial was held at Knoxville, be- 
fore which was tried seven of the twelve raiders there confined. 
The sentence of the court was approved on the fourteenth of June, 
by Major-General E. Kirby Smith. It directed : "The sentence 
of the court will be carried into effect between the 15th and 22d 
days of June, at such time and place as may be designated by the 
commanding officer of Atlanta, who is charged with the arrange- 
ments of the execution thereof." This officer decided that the 
execution should take place at the Atlanta cemetery, at the edge of 
the plot now occupied by a monument to the memory of the Con- 
federate dead. The men met their fate bravely, but with no show 
of bravado. 

"The scaffold," says Pittenger, "which had just been com- 
pleted, consisted of a single long beam, extending from one post 
to another, to which the ropes were attached, and a loose plank ex- 
tended under this, so that the knocking out of the props would 
cause it to fall. A considerable number of spectators were pres- 



Andrews's Railroad Raid 199 

ent, but not nearly so many as attended the execution of Andrews, 
no general meeting of the citizens being permitted. Indeed, the 
preparations had been carried on as secretly as possible." 

When the prop fell five bodies remained dangling in the air, 
but two of the ropes broke, and two men fell insensible to the 
ground. As soon as the men could be revived, and the platform 
readjusted, these two men were hung anew, without any further 
accident. "As soon as life was extinct," says Pittenger, "first in 
the five and afterward in the two, the bodies were laid in a shallow 
trench, already dug, near by, just wide enough for their length 
and long enough for all seven to lie close together. The earth 
was filled in, and here they remained till at the close of the war, 
the National Government removed the bodies to an honored spot 
in the beautiful National Cemetery at Chattanooga. A monu- 
ment should mark this spot and that in Atlanta, where heroism in 
death shone so brightly." 

The railroad raid was indeed a failure, but how near it came 
to being a success is apparent from an account of it, published in 
the Southern Confederacy, a newspaper published in Atlanta, 
date October the 15th, 1862 : "Had these men succeeded in burn- 
ing the bridges, the enemy at Huntsville would have 
occupied Chattanooga before night Sunday night. Yes- 
terday they would have been in Knoxville, and thus have had 
possession of all East Tennessee. Our forces at Knoxville, 
Greenville and Cumberland Gap would ere this have been in the 
hands of the enemy. Lynchburg would have been moved on at 
once. This would have given them possession of the valley of 
Virginia, and Stonewall Jackson would have been attacked in the 
rear. They would have been in the possession of the railroad 
leading to Charlotteville and Orange Court House, as well as the 
South Side Railroad, leading to Pittsburg and Richmond. They 
might have been able to unite with McClellan's forces and attack 
Joe Johnston's army in front and flank. It is not probable that 
our army in Virginia could have been captured or driven out of 
the state this week. 

"The reinforcements from all the eastern and southern por- 
tions of the country would have been cut off from Beauregard. 
The mind and heart shrink, appalled at the awful consequences 



200 Atlanta And Its Builders 

that would have followed the success of this one act. We doubt 
if the victory of Manassas or Shiloh were worth then as much to 
us as this frustration, as this grand coup d'etat. It is not by any 
means certain that the annihilation of Beauregard's whole army at 
Corinth would be so fatal a blow to us as would have been the 
burning of the bridges at that time by these men." 

There were now surviving fourteen of the twenty-two by 
whom the locomotive had been captured at Big Shanty. These 
had been transferred from Knoxville to Atlanta, where they were 
lodged in the public jail, but apparently they were indifferently 
guarded. They overpowered the guard and made off in all direc- 
tions. Eight of them made good their escape, and after numerous 
adventures reached the Union forces at various points. Pittenger 
and three others never got fairly out of the jail yard. Bensinger 
was apparently more fortunate, but he was recaptured the next 
day and again lodged in jail. From the jail those who did not 
escape were soon transferred to the barracks, where they were, 
upon the whole, not badly treated, although they did complain of 
the scanty ration served out to them. 

At the close of November they were startled by the informa- 
tion that they were all to be sent to Richmond to be exchanged. 
They reached the Confederate capital on the 7th of December, and 
and were placed in the so-called "Castle Thunder." The nego- 
tiations for a formal exchange somehow hung fire, and it was not 
until March 18, 1863, that Pittenger and his five companions were 
on their way to Washington. 

Following are the names of the twenty-two who took part in 
the great railroad raid, and the disposition of them : 

Executed June 7, 1862 — James J. Andrews. 

Executed June 18 — William Campbell, George D. Wilson, 
Marion A. Ross, Perry G. Shadrack, Samuel Slavens and Samuel 
Robinson. 

Escaped October 16 — Wilson W. Brown, William Knight, 
John R. Porter, Martin J. Hawkins, Mark Wood, J. A. Wilson, 
John Wollam and Daniel A. Dorsey. 

Exchanged March 18, 1863^ Jacob Parrott, Robert Buffum, 
William Bensinger, William Reddick. Arthur H. Mason and 
William Pittenger. 



Andrews's Railroad Raid 201 

Martin J. Hawkins died in 1867, Mark Wood in 1871, and 
Robert Buffum in 1886. The others were living and their occu- 
pations known at the close of 1887. William A. Fuller, the Con- 
federate conductor, whose fortunate error in regard to the number 
of the engine captors, and whose plucky pursuit of the raiders, in 
all human probability, prolonged the life of the Confederacy for 
three years, received the thanks of the Georgia legislature, which 
also voted medals to him, and to Murphy and Cain. The medals, 
however, were never executed. Mr. Fuller remained a conductor 
on the road as long as it was under Confederate control, though 
he said, ''Sherman, in 1864, bit a piece off of it almost every day 
till it was gone." Subsequently he was given control of the road, 
which he succeeded in keeping out of Sherman's hands. After 
the restoration of the Union he returned to his old position of con- 
ductor, retaining it for ten years; then for seven or eight years he 
was engaged as a merchant in Atlanta, when he retired from 
active business. Pittenger had a very pleasant meeting with him 
near the close of 1886. 

In March, 1864, Mr. Pittenger was admitted to the ministry 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, belonging to the Pittsburg 
conference, and was stationed at several places in Ohio. In 1870 
he was transferred to the New Jersey conference. Since 1876 he 
has been connected with the National School of Elocution and 
Orator}- at Philadelphia, where he has given weekly lectures on 
Shakespeare and extempore speech. Besides "Daring and Suffer- 
ing," he has published several other books, among which are the 
following: "Oratory, Sacred and Secular," "Extempore 
Speech." and "How to Become an Orator." 



CHAPTER XVIII 
"on to Atlanta" 

Chickamauga, bloody and undecisive, had been fought. The 
great western armies of the Union and the Confederacy were the 
weaker by at least 25,000 killed and wounded after they drew out 
of that valley of the shadow through which flowed, as the tongue 
of the red man named it, the "River of Death." Chattanooga, 
the mountain fortress of the Confederacy, was in the possession of 
the hosts of Grant. Then came Lookout Mountain and Mission- 
ary Ridge. The tremendous conflicts upon those frowning 
heights, though no one knew it then, settled the fate of Atlanta. 
Bragg, after suffering a loss of more than 3,000 in killed and 
wounded, and 6,000 prisoners, retired from the field in disastrous 
rout, although he had inflicted upon his enemy a loss in killed and 
wounded almost double that of his own. Aside from the sharp 
engagement at Ringgold, immediately upon the heels of Bragg's 
retreat, and the rash assault of the Federals upon the intrenched 
Confederates at Tunnel Hill, the opposing armies remained 
quietly in their winter quarters and did no fighting deserving of 
the name before spring. The Union army remained in Chatta- 
nooga, with its eye toward Georgia, and the Confederate army 
stood prepared to dispute every foot of the prospective southward 
advance of the enemy. The beautiful Chickamauga valley lay 
between the hostile hosts as sort of a neutral zone. 

During that suspenseful winter both armies changed com- 
manders. On the 27th of December, 1863, General Bragg, re- 
lieved at his own request, turned the command of the Army of 
the Tennessee over to General Joseph E. Johnston. The victo- 
rious General Grant, having been called to the leadership of all the 
Union armies, left for the scene of his future great operations in 
Virginia, designating Major-General William T. Sherman as his 



"On To Atlanta" 203 

successor over the department of the Mississippi, which included 
Tennessee and Georgia. General Sherman entered upon the dis- 
charge of his enlarged duties on the 18th day of March, 1864. 
Pending the appointment of Johnston to the command of the Con- 
federate Army of the Tennessee, Lieutenant-General William J. 
Hardee temporarily filled the place of Bragg, and for some weeks 
prior to Sherman's appointment, Major-General George H. 
Thomas succeeded Grant in command of the Department of the 
Mississippi. 

It was evident, from a movement made by the Federals in 
force on the 23d of February, that an advance upon Dalton was to 
be the next move upon the chessboard of war, and the authorities 
at Richmond prepared to resist the invasion of Georgia with all 
the force at their command. General Sherman had at his dis- 
posal for effective service, in round numbers, 100,000 men. With 
Major-General Thomas, commanding the Army of the Cumber- 
land, there were 50,000; with Major-General McPherson, Army 
of the Tennessee, 35,000; with Major-General Schofield, Army of 
the Ohio, 15,000. Against this well-equipped veteran army, 
composed as it was of the most magnificent fighters of the West, 
General Johnston was able to muster 50,000 men early in the 
spring. Later, when the campaign was fairly opened, both armies 
were augmented by reinforcements, their comparative strength 
being less unequal. There has been considerable controversy as 
to the relative strength of Sherman and Johnston, and while the 
round numbers given are probably fair to both sides, the exact 
numbers claimed by each general in discussing the campaign after 
the war, are as follows : Sherman — Army of the Cumberland, 
60,733, an d 130 guns; Army of the Tennessee, 24,465, 96 guns; 
Army of the Ohio, 13,559, 28 guns; a grand total of 98,797 men 
and 254 guns, 88,188 being infantry, 4,460 artillery, and 6,149 
cavalry. Johnston — 42,856 men and 120 cannon, divided as fol- 
lows : Infantry, 37,652; artillery, 2,812; cavalry, 2,392. 

When the season for the active resumption of military opera- 
tions approached, there was some conflict of opinion between 
General Johnston and the war office. The plan of campaign pro- 
posed by President Davis and his advisers at Richmond was that 
General Johnston invade Tennessee with a force of 75,000 men, 



204 Atlanta And Its Builders 

which was to include Longstreet's corps, then near Morristown, 
Term. It was proposed to collect necessary supplies and transpor- 
tation at Dalton, to which point the additional troops, with the 
exception of Longstreet's corps, were to be sent, after which this 
reinforced army and Longstreet's command were to form a junc- 
tion at Kingston, on the Tennessee river, marching thence into 
the valley of Duck river. General Johnston opposed this plan of 
campaign as impracticable under the conditions then existing. 
He declared that the enemy could easily defeat the attempted 
invasion of Tennessee in force by attacking one of the two bodies 
of Confederate troops while inarching to the place of meeting, 
throwing their whole army at Chattanooga upon it, or by advanc- 
ing against Dalton before Johnston's army was ready to take the 
field. While not opposing the proposed invasion of Tennessee, 
General Johnston proposed that the plan be modified to permit 
the reinforcement of his army by Longstreet's corps at Dalton, 
instead of Kingston, early enough to give him strength to beat 
Sherman at the former point, in which event the enemy would be 
pursued into Tennessee. 

Richmond did not accept Johnston's suggestions, and as they 
were not in harmony with the plan proposed, both were aban- 
doned. President Davis did not, apparently, take kindly to 
Johnston's ideas, even at this early stage of the campaign, and 
thought he saw in the cautious commander a disinclination to 
advance. Through Braxton Bragg he sent word to General John- 
ston that troops could be withdrawn from other points only to 
advance. Johnston protested that he was willing, nay, eager to 
advance, with the proper support, complaining that the disparity 
of numbers between his force and Sherman's was too great, and 
the condition of his army far from what it should be in other re- 
spects, making an aggressive initiative too hazardous. Despite 
Johnston's importunity, which went so far as to send a confiden- 
tial officer to Richmond, President Davis insisted that it was out 
of the question to reinforce the Army of the Tennessee to the 
extent required to meet the wishes of the new commander. The 
result was that Johnston determined to adopt the Fabian policy, 
conserving his forces and disputing his ground doggedly with the 
minimum of risk. As for Sherman, his orders from General 



"On To Atlanta" 205 

Grant were very explicit and radical. He was told to move 
against Johnston's army, to break it up, and to get into the in- 
terior of the enemy's country as far as he could, inflicting all the 
damage possible on their war resources. In reply, General Sher- 
man agreed "to draw the enemy's fire within twenty-four hours 
of May 5th." 

It had been foreseen that if Sherman began an aggressive 
movement from Chattanooga, he would strike for Atlanta, and 
during the winter, Major-General Gilmer, chief engineer, had 
thoroughly entrenched that city, the purpose being co make it a 
base for the army to the north. It was now believed by many of 
the most sagacious leaders of the Confederacy that the policy 
comprehended by Grant's "bold offensive by concentric lines" had 
as one of its chief objectives the capture of the South's great rail- 
road center and supply depot, Atlanta. 

The section of the Western and Atlantic railroad between 
Chattanooga and Ringgold which the Federal forces had de- 
stroyed early in the winter as they fell back to their stronghold, 
was repaired by the 1st of May, and the cars of the Union army 
were running down to Ringgold. All was in readiness for Sher- 
man's forward movement, and his corps commanders were or- 
dered to move without delay, Schofield to Red Clay, Thomas to 
Ringgold, and McPherson, who had come over from Huntsville, 
Ala., to Gordon's Mills. The plan of action as imparted to these 
commanders, was as follows: Thomas to move in force on 
Tunnel Hill, secure that stronghold and threaten Dalton in front, 
but refraining from attacking its defenses without further orders, 
unless the enemy assumed the offensive against either wing, in 
which contingency all were to attack directly in front toward the 
enemy's main army, and not, without orders, detach to the relief 
of the threatened wing. Simultaneously McPherson was to move 
to Ship's Gap and Villanow, and secure possession of Snake Creek 
Gap, from which point he was to operate vigorously against the 
enemy's flank or line of communication between Tilton Station 
and Resaca. Thomas was ordered to maintain communication 
with McPherson through Dogwood alley. Schofield, in moving 
to Red Clay, was ordered to keep connection with Thomas's left. 
On the 4th of May, General Sherman telegraphed to General 
Grant, at Culpeper, Va. : 



206 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"Thomas's center in Ringgold, left at Catoosa, right at Leet's 
Tanyard. Dodge is here. Fifteenth Corps at Whiteside's. 
Schofield closing up on Thomas. All move to-morrow, but I 
hardly expect serious battle till the 7th. Everything very quiet 
with the enemy. Johnston evidently awaits my initiative. I will 
first secure the Tunnel Hill, then throw McPherson rapidly on his 
communications, attacking at same time in front cautiously and in 
force." 

From Ringgold, on the 5th, Sherman telegraphed to Major- 
General Halleck at Washington : 

"Telegraph to General Grant that I am here, and we have 
advanced our lines three miles to-day. McPherson is one day 
behind. I will attack Tunnel Hill on Saturday, and, in the mean- 
time, will occupy Johnston's whole attention." 

The army of General Johnston lay quietly at Dalton, the 
narrow mountain gaps commanding the town from the direction 
of Ringgold being strongly defended and fortified with abatis, 
rock epaulements and commanded by batteries. Rocky Face and 
Buzzard's Roost, two of the most important approaches, were 
impregnable. The wings and flanks of the army were protected 
by Wheeler's magnificent cavalry, and the railroad constituting 
the line of communication with the base at Atlanta was patroled 
and guarded at the bridges by two regiments of Georgia state 
troops. Although General Johnston's army was inferior to that 
of Sherman numerically, and weakened in equipment by lack of 
hearty co-operation with Richmond and the depleting effects of 
the winter, it was fortunately stationed for defensive operations, 
and if he could prevent one of Sherman's characteristic flank 
movements, his Fabian policy promised the most effective results. 
Sherman was quick to see this, and at the start directed his efforts 
toward getting between his enemy and Atlanta. He was not 
anxious to attack Dalton. 

On the 2d of May, Johnston was reinforced by 1,400 infan- 
try of Brigadier-General Mercer's command, and other small 
bodies of his detached troops were hurried up. Johnston con- 
tinued to press Richmond for reinforcements, and in response 
Loring's division of Polk's corps was ordered from Alabama to 
Rome. General Polk was ordered to turn over his department, 



"On To Atlanta" 207 

temporarily, to Major-General Lee, and take the field in command 
of the corps to be moved to Rome. French's division was or- 
dered to follow to the latter place without delay. Cantey's 
division was next to arrive on the 7th, Loring began to come up 
on the 10th, and on the 17th Jackson's cavalry arrived. French 
did not get his division up until the 17th. Ouarles's brigade was 
last to arrive on the 26th. These reinforcements, together with 
the Georgia militia, the furloughed men returned, returned de- 
serters and recruits from the country around, gave Johnston an 
effective force of in the neighborhood of 70,000 men of all arms, 
by the latter part of May. During the same time Sherman re- 
ceived something over 10,000 reinforcements, mostly cavalry, 
making his effective force approximately 110,000 men. 

On the morning of the 4th the steadily advancing skirmish 
line of the Union army drove in Hood's pickets on the Cleveland 
road, and that general ordered his division commanders to hold 
themselves in readiness for action. As the right wing of Sher- 
man's army swung around to the south from Ringgold, it was 
suspected by Johnston that its prime object was to get at once 
upon his line of communications, and he lost no time in strength- 
ening his defenses to the south of Dalton, the key of which was 
Dug Gap. On the morning of the 5th he wired Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Cantey, at Rome, to move his brigade by rail to Resaca, and 
put his wagons in motion for that place. Major-General Martin, 
commanding the cavalry at Cartersville, was at the same time 
ordered to move his command to the vicinity of Rome, to defend 
that post and be in supporting distance of Resaca. General 
Wheeler, commanding the cavalry corps, was ordered to take 
measures to acquire the most accurate information of the position 
of the enemy and send notice in due time of any heavy advance. 
Work on all defenses, and especially those for the protection of the 
railroad, was pushed forward night and day. Major-General 
Stewart was ordered to construct an abatis in front of his works 
at Mill Creek Gap, and on such points along his line on Rocky 
Face Ridge where there was a possibility of the enemy climbing 
up. At noon of the 7th General Johnston wired to Richmond : 

"The enemy are between Tunnel Hill and Dalton, about five 
miles from Dalton, and are advancing. We hold Mill Creek Gap. 



208 Atlanta And Its Builders 

They have also troops in observation this side of Varnell's Station 
on the Cleveland road.'' 

On the same day, a division of the Federals being reported 
at LaFayette, and a larger force preparing to join it with the evi- 
dent intention of marching by the Confederate left upon the rail- 
road in the rear, General Johnston ordered Major-General Mar- 
tin, then at Rome, to proceed to Calhoun, in order to better pro- 
tect the army's communications. Martin was enjoined to keep 
strict watch on the fords between Calhoun and Rome, and to keep 
the advancing enemy under close observation, leaving at Rome the 
men of his command not effective as cavalrymen, with a few 
mounted men or videttes, to observe in front and give timely 
notice to the brigade of Loring, advancing from Alabama, of any 
approach of the Federals to Rome. A messenger was sent to 
General Loring, at Blue Mountain, ordering him to move to Rome 
with all possible dispatch. General Cantey, at Resaca, was or- 
dered to keep close observation on all routes leading from LaFay- 
ette to Resaca or to Oostenaula, on his left. On the 8th General 
Davidson was given command of Rome and ordered to organize 
the troops left there and secure the place until the arrival of Lor- 
ing. Govan's brigade was ordered to move from Dug Gap and 
take position on the line to the right of the Cleveland road. A 
body of Wheeler's cavalry was sent toward Resaca to watch all 
gaps through which the enemy might pass across Rocky Face, 
south of Dug Gap. 

In the meantime, General Sherman was moving forward in 
line of battle, covered by strong forces of cavalry. On the 5th 
Major-General John M. Palmer was directed to have his corps 
prepared to move on Tunnel Hill at daylight on May 7th, leaving 
one of his brigades at Ringgold to guard the depot and train. 
General Sherman's detailed plan of attack, as disclosed in his 
orders to his corps commanders, was as follows : Thomas to 
move straight on Tunnel Hill. McPherson to move from Gor- 
don's Mills, via Rock Spring, to Ship's Gap and Villanow ; thence 
to occupy Snake Creek Gap, and from the latter point to operate 
on the enemy's flank, if in motion, or against the railroad at some 
point between Tilton and Resaca. Schofield was to keep up com- 
munication with Howard, and as the latter moved toward Tun- 



"On To Atlanta" 209 

nel Hill, Schofield was to move on Varnell's Station, inclining to 
his right in order to hold the road between Varnell's and Catoosa 
Springs. If he had reason to apprehend encountering a force 
superior to his own, Schofield was ordered to cross the hills to his 
right and make for Catoosa. Hooker was to move through Nick- 
ajack Gap on Trickum and threaten the road running from Buz- 
zard Roost to Snake Creek Gap. Garrard's cavalry was to meet 
McPherson at Villanow to cover the right rear. General Thomas, 
in occupying the Tunnel Hill ridge, was to threaten Buzzard 
Roost Pass, the threat not to be allowed to lead to battle unless the 
enemy came out of his works, and to get, if possible, a small force 
on Rocky Face Ridge. General Schofield was expected to occupy 
the gaps at Lee's and Varnell's, and to feel from Lee's along clown 
Rocky Face to the Confederate signal station. In case the enemy 
left Buzzard Roost Gap, General Thomas was to follow direct, and 
General Schofield through Lee's Gap, toward Dalton, on the east 
side of Rocky Face Ridge, through Crow's Valley. In giving these 
orders. General Sherman remarked that it was not his purpose to 
attack Dalton from the north, but from the west and south, and 
continued : "As soon as Tunnel Hill is secured to us, I shall 
pause to give McPherson time for his longer march, but we must 
occupy the attention of all the enemy lest he turn his whole force 
on McPherson, which must be prevented. Therefore, on the 
sound of heavy battle always close up on Howard and act accord- 
ing to circumstances. We will not be able to detach to McPher- 
son's assistance, but can press so closely from this direction that 
he cannot detach but a part of his command against him. I have 
reason to believe Johnston has sent most of his cavalry to North 
Alabama, but still you should guard against a cavalry sweep on 
that flank, which can best be done by keeping your columns com- 
pact." To General McPherson he wrote: "I hope the enemy 
will fight at Dalton, in which case he can have no force there that 
can interfere with you. But, should his policy be to fall back 
along his railroad, you will hit him in flank. Do not fail in that 
event to make the most of the opportunity by the most vigorous 
attack possible, as it may save us what we have most reason to 
apprehend — a slow 7 pursuit, in which he gains strength as we lose 
it. In either event you may be sure the forces north of you will 
14-1 



210 Atlanta And Its Builders 

prevent his turning on you alone. In the event of hearing the 
sound of heavy battle about Dalton, the greater necessity for your 
rapid movement on the railroad. It once broken to an extent that 
would take them days to repair, you can withdraw to Snake 
Creek Gap and come to us or await the development according 
to your judgment or information you may receive. I want to put 
this plan in operation, beginning with Saturday morning if possi- 
ble. The sooner the better for us." 

Because of the inability of General McPherson to reach 
Villanow on Saturday, the 7th, the field orders were modified 
somewhat, General Kilpatrick, in command of the Third cavalry 
division, being directed to feel for McPherson's troops, while cov- 
ering General Hooker's movements, on Sunday instead of Satur- 
day. To General McPherson Sherman sent this order at 1 o'clock 
p. m., on the 6th : "Thomas's command will move on Tunnel Hill 
to-morrow. General Schofield will move down to near Varnell's. 
I want you to-morrow night about the head of Middle Chicka- 
mauga, near the word 'Gordon' on the Tavern road, about the 
intersection of the Gordon's Springs Gap road with the main road 
lying along the west base of Taylor's Ridge ; next day at Villanow 
and Snake Creek Gap. Hooker to-morrow will be through Nicka- 
jack Gap about Trickum and will control the road from Buzzard 
Roost to Villanow. Thomas will have Tunnel Hill. I have dates 
from Dalton of the 4th. Johnston is there, expecting our attack 
from the north." 

General Thomas experienced little opposition in advancing 
against Tunnel Hill. General Stanley's division gained that 
point, after some skirmishing between cavalry columns of the op- 
posing forces, his advance being slow on this account and because 
it was necessary to clear the road of timber which had been felled 
across it to impede his march. A brigade of Confederate infantry 
in the gap on Rocky Face Ridge made a movement toward Tun- 
nel Hill when the Federals were seen to be in possession, but re- 
tired when a few artillery shots were fired at them. Simultaneous 
with the arrival of Thomas on Tunnel Hill, Schofield reached the 
point designated in his orders, his cavalry halting at Varnell's 
Station. Tunnel Hill was secured at 1 1 o'clock on the morning of 
the 7th, and at noon General Sherman visited the position. That 



'On To Atlanta' 



211 



night Stanley's division bivouacked on Tunnel Hill, and the day 
closed rather uneventfully. In the meantime McPherson was 
moving toward Villanow. The skirmishing- throughout the day 
was slight, with few fatalities. The advanced Confederate 
troops were pressed back to Snake Creek Gap. During- the day 
General Cantey reached Resaca. 

On the 8th, the Fourth corps threatened Buzzard Roost Pass 
and sought to make a lodgment on Rocky Face Ridge. Colonel 
Harker got upon the north end of the ridge, not far from a Con- 
federate signal station, and General Davis drove the Confederate 
pickets on Round Top Hill from their rifle pits, which General 
Stanley's skirmishers proceeded to occupy. The Federals lost 
twenty in killed and wounded in the skirmishes while making 
their reconnoissance on the north end of Rocky Face Ridge. 
When the day closed Howard and Palmer had possession close up 
to the gap of Buzzard Roost. General Sherman, who spent three 
hours on Tunnel Hill watching Butterfield's skirmishers attempt- 
ing to get possession of the signal hill, expressed the fear that 
Johnston was annoying him with small detachments, whilst he 
was assembling around Resaca in force. He complained that he 
had not succeeded in drawing the fire of a single gun of the 
enemy. 

The most important engagement of the 8th occurred at Dug 
Gap, four miles southwest of Dalton, late in the afternoon, be- 
tween Geary's division of Hooker's corps, and two regiments of 
Reynolds's Arkansas brigade and Grigsby's brigade of Kentucky 
cavalry, fighting on foot. The plan was for Hooker to seize Dug 
Gap and push forward sufficiently to protect the flank of McPher- 
son, and strike the flank of Johnston, if he turned on McPherson, 
while the latter, marching through Snake Creek Gap to Resaca, 
should not only destroy but hold the only railroad tributary to 
Johnston. The possession of Dug Gap by Hooker would have 
rendered Dalton untenable by Johnston and made his retreat 
southward by the railroad extremely hazardous, at the same time 
completely protecting McPherson from attack on his left flank. 
As Geary's division advanced in line of battle toward Dug Gap 
in the early afternoon, Grigsby's cavalry, over a thousand strong, 
disputed its progress with much determination, retreating before 



212 Atlanta And Its Builders 

it and falling back to the Gap, occupied by the two Arkansas regi- 
ments — a mere fragment numbering 250 men under Colonel Wil- 
liamson. The assaulting force numbered at least four times that 
of the defenders, but it was at a terrible disadvantage on account 
of the nature of the ground. Assault after assault was made by 
Geary, but each time he was repulsed with considerable loss. As 
his lines crept slowly up the rocky, wooded face of the mountain, 
they were whelmed with a terrific musketry fire, and great rocks 
and stones were rolled down upon them by the Confederates. He 
gained the second ridge of the mountain summit by assault four 
times, but was compelled to fall back before the withering fire 
above him. at dark withdrawing his troops under protection of a 
heavy fire from his artillery. He reported an aggregate loss of 
357 officers and men, of whom some 50 were the venturesome ad- 
vance, who actually reached the crest, only to be made prisoners. 
The Confederates lost less than a score in killed and wounded. 
After the day had been won, they were relieved by Granbury's 
Texas brigade, and Generals Hardee and Cleburne, with their 
staffs, galloped to Dug Gap to encourage by their presence its de- 
fense. 

General McPherson took possession of Snake Creek Gap the 
same evening, meeting with no opposition worthy of the name. 
Why this important point was not defended by Johnston, as could 
have been done with a comparatively small force aided by artillery, 
is one of the enigmas of that chieftain's plan of campaign. The 
fact that Snake Creek Gap was not guarded, gave Sherman the 
easy means of causing the subsequent evacuation of Dalton and 
the retreat of Johnston's army to Resaca. The mistake was seen 
too late. After the gallant resistance of Grigsby and the Arkansas 
troops in Dug Gap, that officer was ordered to take his command 
to Snake Creek Gap, which he did at a late hour of the night, 
finding McPherson already in possession. A sharp collision oc- 
curred between Grigsby and the enemy's skirmish line. McPher- 
son was n< >w in a position to work on Johnston's flank in the event 
that he fell back, as seemed inevitable. Kilpatrick operated be- 
tween Villanow and Snake Creek Gap with his cavalry, waiting 
for Garrard to come up. 

The morning of the 9th broke bright and warm. At an early 
hour skirmishing was resumed in the vicinity of Tunnel Hill, and 



"On To Atlanta" 213 

the Federals who had gained an uncertain footing on the edge of 
Rocky Face sought to extend their ground, making repeated 
rushes close to the Confederate signal tower. A brisk artillery fire 
played upon the Confederates in Harker's front. Shortly after 
noon General Stanley's skirmish line had gained the west side of 
the ridge to the foot of the palisades and there lay inactive, being- 
unable to scale the almost perpendicular walls of the mountain. At 
the same time Schofield pushed forward in the valley to the east 
and engaged the Confederate skirmishers. All day the Federals 
felt the positions of the Confederates cautiously, without taking- 
important ground from them. A strong Federal column under 
General Morgan, of General Davis's division, moved out Buzzard 
Roost Pass late in the afternoon, and made threats against the 
ridge lying opposite to Buzzard Roost, which was strongly forti- 
fied by the Confederates. Very heavy skirmishing occurred here, 
the defenders of the fortifications opening with artillery just be- 
fore nightfall. This threat developed not only the force of the 
Confederates and their guns, but the strength of their position. A 
direct attack against such a natural fortress was seen to be out of 
the question. Thomas ordered the advanced troops to hold their 
position close up to Buzzard Roost Gap through the night. The 
losses of the day were about 200 in the Federal Fourth Corps. 

In the meantime, McPherson was not idle down at Snake 
Creek Gap. Putting a sufficient force in position to hold the strat- 
egic point, he proceeded to make reconnaisances in the vicinity of 
Resaca and to watch his opportunity to break the railroad between 
that point and Dalton. Grigsby's Kentucky cavalry, which had 
sought to occupy Snake Creek Gap in advance of McPherson, an- 
noyed his advance through the forenoon of the 9th, causing his 
march to be as slow as that of a skirmish line. The plucky horse- 
men were driven before the corps into Resaca, where General 
Dodge skirmished with Cantey in the forenoon. While Dodge 
was occupying the attention of the defenders of Resaca, one com- 
pany of mounted infantry under Lieutenant-Colonel Phillips suc- 
ceeded in reaching the railroad near Tilton Station, but was forced 
to leave without damaging the track. They tore down a small 
portion of the telegraph wire. In his report, sent to General 
Sherman that night, McPherson said : "The enemy have a strong 



214 Atlanta And Its Builders 

position at Resaca naturally, and, as far as we could see, have it 
pretty well fortified. They displayed considerable force, and 
opened on us with artillery. After skirmishing till nearly dark, 
and finding that I could not succeed in cutting the railroad before 
dark, or getting to it, I decided to withdraw the command and 
take up a position for the night between Sugar Valley and the en- 
trance to the gap for the following reasons : First. Between this 
point and Resaca there are half a dozen good roads leading north 
toward Dalton down which a column of the enemy could march, 
making our advanced position a very exposed one. Second. Gen- 
eral Dodge's men are all out of provisions, and some regiments 
have had nothing to-day. His wagon train is between here and 
Villanow, and possibly some of them are coming through the gap 
now, but they could not have reached him near Resaca ; besides, I 
did not wish to block up the road with a train. It is very narrow, 
and the country on either side is heavily wooded. I had no cav- 
alry except Phillips's mounted men to feel out on the flanks. If I 
could have had a division of good cavalry I could have broken 
the railroad at some point. I shall be compelled to rest my men 
to-morrow forenoon, at least, to enable them to draw provisions." 



CHAPTER XIX 

EVACUATION OF DALTON 

Rocky Face was too hard a nut for Sherman to crack — but in 
reality he had no intention of cracking it. Wily old strategist that 
he was, his purpose was to occupy the fullest pos- 
sible attention of Johnston in front of Dalton, 
while McPherson got upon the railroad to his rear and 
paid his respects to Resaca. On the ioth the situation on Rocky 
Face was little changed. There was little skirmishing or picket 
firing in the forenoon. It rained quite steadily until 2 o'clock in 
the afternoon, and very hard from dark to midnight. Early in the 
day General Stanley was compelled to draw in his lines a little in 
front on account of the Confederate sharpshooters firing down 
from the trees at the top of the palisades into the rifle-pits he had 
dug the previous night. A sharp fire was kept up for an hour or 
more from one of Wood's batteries upon the Confederates upon 
the summit of Rocky Face, to which the latter replied with two 
guns. The casualties were small on either side. Schofield fell 
back to his old position undisturbed, and quiet prevailed along his 
front. 

General McPherson was busy all day fortifying his position 
in readiness for a retrograde movement on the part of Johnston. 
He reported to Sherman that the ground was admirable for the 
purpose intended, and suggested that if a large force was thrown 
in there he would have the chances of a decided victory. At the 
same time he reported that Kilpatrick's cavalry was arriving and 
that Garrard would reach Villanow that night. McPherson ex- 
pected an attack in the morning. 

There was much activity on the part of the cavalry. Wheeler 
was striking where a favorable opportunity presented, and on the 
9th reported that he had fought the enemy's cavalry for three 

215 



Evacuation Of Dalton 217 

hours in the morning, driven them two miles, and captured 200 
prisoners, horse equipments, etc. At this date the Confederate 
army was much elated by the news of Lee's success in Virginia. 

General Johnston, alarmed at the reports reaching him of 
McPherson's movements down about Sugar Valley, sent three 
divisions, under Lieutenant-General Hood, to Resaca. On the 
9th he had written to Cantey, in command there : "General John- 
ston sends you another brigade. He impresses upon you the im- 
portance of the bridges you guard and the absolute necessity of 
their being held. General Martin is near Calhoun. Make ar- 
rangements with him to come to your assistance, if pressed, and 
keep the general fully informed of everything that takes place. 
Remember that if you are attacked by a very large force the gen- 
eral will come to your assistance, and that you can hold out with 
the certainty of being relieved. As the enemy may cross below 
you and attack the bridge from the south, the general thinks you 
had better throw up some defenses at the south end of the bridge. 
If there is no movement in your direction arrangements have been 
made to bring back the brigade. All your troops should be always 
prepared to move in this direction." 

On the 10th the first of Loring's brigades arrived at Rome, 
with General Polk, and was at once sent forward to Resaca. The 
rest of the Alabama reinforcements were reported following close 
behind. The same evening the following dispatch was sent Gen- 
eral Polk from headquarters at Dalton : "General Johnston 
wishes you to concentrate your troops at Resaca. Assume com- 
mand of that place and of the district, including Rome, and of 
Martin's cavalry, and make the proper dispositions to defend the 
passage of the river and our communications. General Johnston 
suggests the immediate movement of Forrest into Middle Ten- 
nessee. He is fully persuaded he would meet there no force that 
could resist him." 

By this time, despite his precautionary measures at Resaca, 
it does not appear that Johnston was fully aware of his adversary's 
intentions. He evidently expected an attack in force at Dalton. 
On the afternoon of the 10th, General Hardee wrote General 
Wheeler : "I am unable to decide what the Yankees are endeavor- 
ing to accomplish. The force in Crow's Valley, east of Rocky 



218 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Face, is reported to be moving to our left. There seems to be 
no force threatening us except on Rocky Face, and that force has 
been unusually quiet to-day. All safe at Resaca. Hood and com- 
mand will return this evening. No news. I am only uneasy 
about our right, and won't be uneasy about that when Hood re- 
turns. Report promptly any movement of troops on Varnell's 
Station road. It is from that point I apprehend danger." 

On the morning of the nth Sherman continued to keep up 
his feint of a direct attack on Dalton through Buzzard Roost Gap, 
while the bulk of his army moved through Snake Creek Gap to 
attack the enemy in earnest. On the morning of the 10th he had 
wired Washington : "I am starting for the extreme front in Buz- 
zard Roost Gap, and write this dispatch that you may understand. 
Johnston acts purely on the defensive. I am attacking him on his 
strongest fronts, viz., west and north, till McPherson breaks his 
line at Resaca, when I will swing round through Snake Creek 
Gap, and interpose between him and Georgia. I am not driving 
things too fast, because I want two columns of cavalry that are 
rapidly coming up to me from the rear, Stoneman on my left and 
Garrard on my right, both due to-day. Yesterday I pressed hard 
to prevent Johnston detaching against McPherson, but to-day I 
will be more easy, as I believe McPherson has destroyed Resaca, 
when he is ordered to fall back to mouth of Snake Creek Gap and 
act against Johnston's flank when he does start. All are in good 
condition." 

General Sherman expressed keen disappointment that Mc- 
Pherson did not accomplish the breaking of the railroad at Tilton. 
His plan, as briefly outlined in the dispatch to General Halleck, 
at first comprehended leaving Schofield's corps to hold the ground 
at Tunnel Hill, taking Thomas to Resaca to join McPherson. To 
this Schofield urged objections, declaring: "To leave my small 
command here would simply result in my being idle or being 
whipped," and continued : "The moment Johnston discovered 
the move he would turn upon me, drive me back, and capture your 
supplies at Tunnel Hill, then turn upon you. If you can carry 
with you larger supplies to Resaca than Johnston has north of that 
point, I believe your success would not be doubtful, even if Dalton 
were fortified toward the south, which I understand it is not. 



Evacuation Of Dalton 219 

Dalton being not fortified toward the south, if you can carry sup- 
plies enough to last while you defeat Johnston in open field, and 
then reopen your communication with Chattanooga, your success 
seems more than probable." 

Sherman seems to have accepted Schofield's suggestions and 
modified his plans accordingly. Instead of leaving one of his 
corps on Tunnel Hill, he concluded to have all three at Resaca, 
with the exception of General Howard's command, which, aided 
by General Stoneman's and McCook's cavalry, was to continue to 
cover Buzzard Roost Gap. The general commanding declared 
that the gap was as strong against the enemy as himself. Stone- 
man arrived on the nth and preparations were pushed forward. 
Sherman told McPherson to order Kilpatrick to make a strike at 
the railroad, if he thought it practicable, in the meantime. In 
order that the reader may get a clear idea of Sherman's intended 
movement, the following extract is taken from his orders to Mc- 
Pherson on the 10th: "The Buzzard Roost Gap is so well de- 
fended and naturally is so strong that I will undertake to attack 
Johnston through Snake Creek Gap in this manner : Hooker's 
corps is already ordered to support you. His troops will arrive 
to-morrow and next day and will be instructed to widen and im- 
prove the road through the gap so that wagons may pass going 
and coming and troops may march by paths alongside. You had 
better do this at your end of the gap at once. Another corps of 
Thomas (Palmer's) will follow, and then Schofield. We expect 
all to be in motion the day after to-morrow, and to mask the 
movement as much as possible, Howard will remain here with his 
corps and will keep up the feint to the last moment, and if forced 
back, will be prepared to do so, having sent back to Ringgold in 
advance his supply wagons and all incumbrances. He will have a 
small division of cavalry to watch the road between this and Snake 
Creek Gap, the same where Geary now is, and Stoneman, with 
two brigades of cavalry, to his north and east. This force will 
cover us to the north ; Garrard's newly arrived cavalry will guard 
to the south and west, and we must take care of ourselves. Once 
through the gap I would interpose between Johnston and Resaca 
and might, if it could be done quick, attack Resaca or Johnston. 
In the mean time mask your own force as much as possible, but 



220 Atlanta And Its Builders 

hold your ground and look well to secure the mountain range to 
the east and north." 

At i o'clock on the nth. General Howard, from his position 
on Rocky Face, reported a heavy column of infantry moving 
through Dalton, its advanced lines well massed. One camp had 
been struck. A little later in the day, General Sherman sent word 
to McPherson that the indications were that Johnston was evacu- 
ating Dalton, in which event he said Howard and the cavalry 
would pursue, and all the rest would follow McPherson's route. 
He said he would be down to Snake Creek Gap in the morning, 
and ordered McPherson to strike the enemy, if possible, about 
the forks of the road. He added : "Hooker must be with you 
now, and you might send Garrard to threaten Rome and that 
flank. I will cause the lines all to be felt at once." Following 
Sherman's instructions. Stanley made a reconnaissance 
through Buzzard Roost Gap to ascertain whether the 
Confederates were yet in their works. This was done at 5 o'clock 
until dusk, developing the enemy in front in considerable force. 
The fire of seven guns in front was drawn by the reconnaissance. 
The fire of the Confederate sharpshooters during the 
movement was very accurate and severe. About forty Federals 
were killed or wounded. General Wagner, on Rocky Face, re- 
ported that the enemy's regiments were leaving the valley on the 
west side of the ridge, and moving toward Dalton, but that their 
front line across the valley was still maintained. There was little 
picket firing along the lines during the day, and the Confederates 
did not open their artillery from the summit of Rocky Face. 

At the time Sherman was closing his preparations for his 
grand coup to the south, Johnston was exerting every effort to 
strengthen Resaca and urging speed on the part of the approach- 
ing reinforcements. On the nth he wired Richmond : "On Sat- 
urday last the enemy moved to the foot of Rocky Face Ridge. 
Since then there has been skirmishing and many partial engage- 
ments brought on by their attempts to gain the passes and com- 
manding positions on the mountains. They have thus far failed 
in all their attempts. The enemy now making strong demon- 
strations on Resaca. Lieutenant-General Polk concentrated his 
troops at Resaca." 



Evacuation Of Dalton 221 

Early on the morning of the nth General Hardee reported 
that no enemy was in Crow's Valley, none on his right, and that, 
in his opinion, the Federals were moving by their right toward the 
Oostenanla. General Wheeler was ordered to ascertain the truth 
of this report and the location of the enemy's left. Colonel 
Grigsby was posted with his cavalry brigade on the Sugar Valley 
road, facing south, some five miles distant from Dug Gap. Gen- 
eral Allen was cautioned to observe the movements of the Federals 
between General Walker's position, Resaca, and Snake Creek Gap, 
keeping Walker and Cantey advised. At 8 o'clock that morning 
General Cantey reported "enemy advancing on this place in 
force." Cheatham was directed to withdraw his division from the 
line and move it down the Sugar Valley road toward Dug Gap. 
General Strahl was ordered to halt his brigade on the same road, 
opposite Dug Gap, and put himself in communication with the 
officer in command of the Gap, assisting him, if the Gap was at- 
tacked. Cleburne's division was ordered by General Hood to 
move at sunrise to a point five miles south of where the Sugar 
Valley road turns to go to Dug Gap, there to threaten the enemy 
and under certain conditions to attack him. General Govan's 
brigade was ordered to join Cleburne. Couriers dashed between 
Resaca and Dalton with hurry orders. General Polk hurried up 
from Kingston. Walker was ordered to go to Cleburne's assist- 
ance if required. General Martin, at Calhoun, was cautioned to 
be on the lookout for the enemy's advance. In the meantime, cars 
were being sent from Atlanta to Rome to transport the troops 
expected to arrive from the west any moment. 

On the morning of the 12th Sherman was quietly dropping 
down to Snake Creek Gap, according to programme, and John- 
ston kept the defenders of Resaca apprised of the movement of the 
enemy's columns, at the same time making his preparations to 
follow, if occasion demanded. General Wheeler, with a small 
force of his cavalry, had a hard skirmish with double the number 
of Federal cavalry, near Varnell's Station, and got the better of 
the fight. The force left at Tunnel Hill received quite a scare dur- 
ing the day from the movements of the Confederates, it being be- 
lieved that a considerable force of the enemy was being sent to 
Ringgold. Colonel Butler, with the Fifth Indiana cavalry, was 



222 Atlanta And Its Builders 

ordered by Howard to Ringgold, taking two guns of Bradley's 
battery with him. A considerable portion of Stoneman's com- 
mand was preparing to make a dash to Ringgold, in pursuit, when 
it was ascertained that the supposed raid was insignificant. The 
operations on Rocky Face Ridge were insignificant. Some feint- 
ing was done by both sides to develop the opposing strength, but 
not of a noteworthy character. Much of the time of 
the Federals was devoted to watching the enemy in the valley and 
signaling to their comrades on the march. In the middle of the 
afternoon Howard reported to Sherman that Johnston had 
marched out a column of cavalry, infantry and artillery — about 
10,000 strong, just east of the fort on Potato Hill, as a diversion. 
The Federals on the ridge made a small diversion, also. Late in 
the afternoon, General Thomas reported that the road leading 
from Dalton was full of heavy wagon trains moving south. Gen- 
eral Kilpatrick, who went within two miles of Resaca, was com- 
pelled to fall back, being constantly flanked. General McPherson 
had disposed his command to attack Johnston in flank should he 
prove to be retreating. 

At 1.45 in the afternon of the 12th, General Johnston tele- 
graphed Richmond : "I am convinced that the Federal army, hav- 
ing failed in its attempt on this place, is now, covered by the 
Rocky Face Ridge, in motion for Calhoun or some point on the 
Oostenaula. I will follow the movement." 

During the night Johnston's infantry and artillery left Dal- 
ton for Resaca, his cavalry following next day, the 13th. 

After nightfall on the 12th, Schofield sent word from four 
miles north of Villanow that he was putting his troops in camp, 
intending to march for Snake Creek Gap in the morning. Sher- 
man ordered him to start by 3 o'clock, remarking : "Johnston is 
marching and will make his twenty miles before we can make 
ten." At 2.30 o'clock in the morning of the 13th, Sherman sent 
word to Howard to feel the enemy's lines at once at all points with 
infantry and cavalry, and, if possible, follow him, if he was retir- 
ing south. Referring to Johnston, he said : "Of course his whole 
army must be marching at this moment to meet us. If he has not 
evacuated Dalton he will to-morrow, and I want you boldly to 
strike him at all points and be prepared to follow up, pressing his 



Evacuation Of Dalton 223 

rear. Tell Stoneman I want him to swing a force of cavalry — 
enough to make a show — well around Dalton, from Varnell's, as 
though for Spring Place. He will move straight for the enemy, 
wherever he may be, at sunrise." 

At 9 o'clock on the morning of the 13th, General Howard 
entered Dalton, where he found the rear guard of Johnston's cav- 
alry and a few stragglers. Stoneman covered his left, and Mc- 
Cook his right. The town was soon cleared of the enemy remain- 
ing behind. Reporting to this effect to Sherman, Howard said he 
found the railroad entirely uninjured up to that point, and would 
make Dalton a depot at once. At noon Sherman replied : "Have 
the roads repaired to Dalton. Let the cavalry feel forward care- 
fully, supported by infantry. If there be no detached forts at 
Dalton on the south front, select some good ground and prepare it 
for defense in case Johnston turns. I have not yet discovered if 
he be south of Resaca or not. I think he is about Swamp Creek. 
Keep your troops very light and feel to the right. I have a good 
force at the gap of Snake Creek. Communicate with me as often 
as possible. The passage of the gap was a slower process than I 
expected, and it has taken us until now to get out and up to Camp 
Creek, where skirmishing is now progressing. I will fight for the 
railroad this afternoon. Tell Stoneman and McCook now to 
strike the retiring column of trains, burn all wagons, and secure 
the horses." 

At noon Howard reported : "I think the rebels mean to 
avoid a fight at Resaca." Sherman ordered him to press the re- 
treat of the enemy with cavalry, supported by infantry, and to 
open signal communication with his headquarters. 

The following correspondence between Generals Thomas and 
Sherman, on the morning of the 13th, is given as throwing much 
light on the situation and on the Federal plan of action. After 
reporting the occupation of Dalton by Howard, General Thomas 
said : "I have directed General Palmer to march two miles north- 
easterly from the debouch of the intrenchments, and then take an 
easterly course until he strikes the railroad, covering his left flank 
and front with a strong line of skirmishers. Should the enemy 
be driven down the railroad Generals Palmer and Schofield will 
be directly in his rear, with General Hooker to support them, if 



224 Atlanta And Its Builders 

necessary. In this situation of affairs the enemy must be com- 
pletely cut off, or compelled to retreat by the various fords south- 
east of Dalton, across the Connesauga, in which latter event, if 
General McPherson will merely threaten Resaca with the head 
of his column, and force a passage across the Oostenaula at Lay's 
Ferry, and take up a strong position on the hills bordering the 
railroad southeast of Lay's Ferry, Johnston will be compelled to 
retreat through the mountains to Allatoona, which will be exceed- 
ingly difficult, if he succeeds in accomplishing it at all. Should 
you think well of this plan, I can throw Hooker's corps across 
Lay's Ferry to the support of General McPherson, and General 
Palmer's corps also, unless the enemy evacuate Resaca. If Res- 
aca be evacuated the main body of the army could be crossed at 
Resaca and Lay's Ferry and pursue rapidly along the railroad and 
vicinity." To which Sherman replied : "Until I hear that Joe 
Johnston is south of the Oostenaula I would not cross at 
Lav's. We must first interpose between Dalton and Resaca, 
threatening the latter all the time. I want Hooker's right and 
McPherson's left strong until we encounter Johnston, who has 
not yet got below Resaca, I think. If he retreats east we have the 
advantage. I want the pontoons up and to secure the railroad on 
Hooker's right Palmer should join on to Hooker, and Hooker 
should be strong." 

All day and far into the night of the 13th the contending 
armies were getting into position for the encounter which was 
promised at Resaca on the day following. Sherman arranged his 
pontoons for the passage of the river, and the Confederates posted 
batteries at favorable points to prevent his crossing. There was 
some lively skirmishing, principally between the cavalry. The 
lines of battle were formed near together in some instances, the 
troops being industriously engaged in throwing up parapets, con- 
structing abatis and digging trenches and rifle pits. As the Fed- 
erals were moving in on the Snake Creek Gap road, a collision was 
nearly precipitated with Loring's troops, which feinted to gain 
time for the formation of Hardee's and Hood's corps, just arriv- 
ing. As the Confederate army was formed, the left of Polk's 
corps was on the Oostenaula and the right of Hood's corps rested 
on the Connesauga. The heaviest skirmishing was on Polk's 
front and Hardee's left, in the afternoon. 



Evacuation Of Dalton 225 

In explanation of his course in falling back from Dalton, 
General Johnston said, long after the close of the war : "The 
Confederate army was compelled to abandon its position in front 
of Dalton by General Sherman's flank movement through Snake 
Creek Gap, and was forced from the second position by the move- 
ment toward Calhoun. Each of these movements would have 
made the destruction of the Confederate army inevitable in case of 
defeat. In the first case the flank march was protected completely 
by Rocky Face Ridge, and in the second, as completely by the Oos- 
tenaula river. A numerical superiority of more than two to one 
made those maneuvers free from risk. General Sherman thinks 
that the impracticable nature of the country, which made the 
passage of the troops across the valley almost impossible, saved 
the Confederate army. "The army remained in its position at 
Dalton until May 13th, because I know the time required for the 
march of 100,000 men through the long defile between their right 
flank, near Mill Creek Gap, and the outlet of Snake Creek Gap ; 
and the shortness of the time in which 43,000 men could march by 
two good roads direct from Dalton to Resaca ; and the additional 
fact that our post at Resaca could hold out a longer time than our 
march to that point would require." 



15-1 



CHAPTER XX 

RESACA 

At Resaca the topography of the country placed the two 
armies on more of an equality, so far as the ground occupied by 
each was concerned, but the place was anything but a favorable 
one for the easy maneuvering of troops in battle array. One of 
the Federal generals, in a subsequent report, described the region 
as a "conglomeration of hills." It was a blind region, difficult to 
even abstractly learn on short acquaintance; but Sherman seems 
to have proceeded with a concrete knowledge of the vicinity. As 
one of his admirers put it, he "knew every cow trail." At that 
time there was little cultivated land around Resaca. Such as 
there was lay in the valley, immediately around the railroad sta- 
tion of the hamlet. Up from the river the ridges were blended 
confusedly, with frequent abrupt knobs, and these uplands were 
heavily timbered. Little cleared strips lay along the creeks, in 
some places. The several roads leading to the place were exceed- 
ingly narrow, winding through the timber. Close to the railway 
station there were railroad and wagon bridges across the Oosten- 
aula, the only means of access to the country lying south. The 
Confederate fortifications, consisting of earthworks, with lunettes 
at the vital angles, commanded and ran almost parallel with the 
railroad, descending to the river and completely covering the open 
space in which Resaca lay. While the position was naturally 
strong, enough work had not been done on the works to make 
them formidable. As Polk got his reinforcements over from 
Rome, he enlarged and strengthened these defenses somewhat, in 
the short time allowed him before the Federal army encompassed 
the place. 

General Johnston waited till the last moment before letting 
go of Dalton. As he said in explanation of his movement, he had 

226 



Resaca 227 

two fairly good roads open to Resaca, better and more direct than 
any the Federals could take, and his smaller force was much easier 
to move than Sherman's three cumbersome army corps. When 
he had made sure that only Howard was left at Tunnel Hill to 
divert attention from Sherman's real intentions, he lost no time in 
dropping down to Resaca with the remainder of his army, quietly 
drawing his troops out of their positions on Rocky Face, before 
Howard, on the night of the 12th. Howard, after dashing into 
Dalton in the morning, pursued eight miles in the afternoon and 
harassed the Confederate rear guard considerably, taking some 
prisoners. When Sherman had made his junction with McPher- 
son at Snake Creek Gap, on the night of the 13th, he found his 
wary antagonist in line of battle before him, with greater strength 
numerically than at Dalton, and already strongly intrenched in an 
advantageous position. He had had "the pick of the ground," 
thanks to the timely opposition interposed by Loring. 

Johnston so disposed his army that the left of Polk's corps 
occupied the west face of the Resaca entrenchments. Hardee's 
corps formed the center, facing west. Hood's corps formed the 
right, its left division facing to the left and the two others to the 
northwest, crossing the railroad and reaching to the Connesauga 
river. While the Confederates were making the most of this 
ground, the Federals were forming in front of them. General 
McPherson, first to take position, struck the enemy's pickets, driv- 
ing them before him, and occupied a ridge of bald hills almost 
parallel with the Confederate works, his right resting on the Oos- 
tenaula, some two miles below the railroad bridge, his left square- 
ly abreast of Resaca. Thomas came up on McPherson's left, fac- 
ing Camp Creek, behind which the Confederates lay, and Scho- 
field, delayed and worn-out by the tangled forests he had cut his 
way through, took a position to the left of Thomas. With his 
eye ever to the enemy's flank, and suspicious of another retrograde 
movement in good order on the part of Johnston, Sherman at once 
ordered his pontoons to be thrown across the Oostenaula at Lay's 
Ferry, and before the ball opened at Resaca, he had all arrange- 
ments perfected for detached expeditions against Rome and Cal- 
houn, and an avenue of egress for a general forward movement 
south of the river, should his enemy elude him. At davbreak on 



228 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the 14th the artillery was in position on the lines of both armies, 
and the opposing forces alert and vigilant. 

On this day, the first of the battle of Resaca, General Sher- 
man wired Washington : "By the flank movement on Resaca we 
have forced Johnson to evacuate Dalton, and we are on his flank 
and rear, but the parallelism of the valleys and mountains does not 
give us all the advantage of an open country, but I will press him 
all that is possible. Weather fine and troops in fine order. All is 
working well and fast as possible. I have announced in orders 
Mr. Stanton's dispatch as to the victory at Spotsylvania. Let us 
keep the ball rolling." 

It was not until the day following that General Johnston 
communicated with Richmond, in answer to a dispatch of Presi- 
dent Davis, on the 13th, expressing the fear that Grant intended 
to draw reinforcements from Sherman, and cautioning Johnston 
to be extremely vigilant, and if he was unable to prevent it to give 
the earliest information possible of such a movement. Johnston 
replied : "We are in the presence of the whole force of the enemy 
assembled from Tennessee and North Alabama. I think he can- 
not re-enforce Grant without my knowledge (nor do I think will), 
as my whole line is engaged in skirmishing. Yesterday he made 
several assaults that were repulsed." 

The fighting at Resaca really began on the evening of the 
13th, for the term skirmishing is too mild a designation for the 
encounters that distinguished the opening of the conflict. On his 
stand against the advance of Sherman, which began early in the 
afternoon of the 13th, Major-General Loring reported: "Receiv- 
ing orders to throw forward a brigade to check his advance, Scott's 
brigade was moved forward and took position in line on Bald 
Knob, about a mile west of town. About 1 p. m. the brigade 
became warmly engaged, and held the enemy in check three hours, 
and could have maintained its position longer, but was ordered to 
retire into our line of intrenchments. It drew off in perfect order 
and took position on the right of Yaughan's brigade, Cantey's 
division. Adams's was drawn up on the right of Scott's, with 
Featherston's in rear as reserve. I ordered breastworks thrown 
up on both front and rear lines, which the men set about with 
great spirit and speedily accomplished. Bonanchaud's, Barry's, 




pq 



O 



230 Atlanta And Its Bui! 'ers 

Cowan's, and Charpentier's batteries were placed in position on a 
high range of hills on line of Cantey's division. The losses 
occurring in the division after forming behind the intrenchments 
resulted from heavy shelling of the enemy and his sharpshooters, 
there being no heavy engagement on the part of the line it occu- 
pied." 

There was a sharp passage at arms that afternoon all along 
Polk's front and the front of Cheatham's division of Hardee's 
corps. On that morning, Logan sent the divisions of Osterhaus 
and Harrow out of their works, already constructed, advancing 
them along the Resaca road to the cross-roads, two miles from 
Resaca, where they were deployed in line of battle to the left of 
Brigadier-General Morgan L. Smith's division, previously sta- 
tioned there. Preceded by a strong line of skirmishers, the col- 
umn, supported by Smith's division, moved steadily forward 
toward Resaca, a little more than three miles distant, over very 
broken ground, heavily covered with underbrush. The Confed- 
erates poured upon the advancing enemy a rapid and effective fire, 
but attempted to make no decided stand until his line debouched 
from the woods into a wide extent of cleared fields flanked by a 
range of commanding hills bordering Camp Creek. Upon these 
hills the Confederates had some hastily constructed barricades and 
pits, and a battery planted. This battery, playing with small 
effect upon the Federals, was soon silenced by their artillery, and 
their column swept on across to the Camp Creek hills, the crest of 
which was gained without much difficulty, the Confederates hav- 
ing retired before the superior force. The valley of Camp Creek, 
which contained many "deadened" trees, had been set on fire by 
the Confederates to check the enemy's advance, but the Federals 
came on the run through the burning leaves and smoke. The 
crest overlooked the Resaca forts, the hamlet of Resaca, the rail- 
road and the bridges. The position w T as seen to be an important 
one, and General Logan caused artillery to be placed on the 
heights, with which he opened vigorously on the Confederates in 
front, and prevented the passage of railroad trains. Rifle pits 
were thrown up by the Federals and works built for their batteries, 
in the face of a heavy fire, and here the line rested at night, its 
skirmishers advanced well forward, holding the line of Camp 
Creek. 



Re sac a 231 

Throughout the 13th Wheeler's cavalry was doing what it 
could to hamper the advance of Sherman's legions. Of the result 
of his efforts General Wheeler said : "The resistance the enemy 
experienced can be appreciated when we consider the fact that 
during fifteen hours they pressed forward but ten miles." 

At 8 o'clock on the morning of the 13th, Hooker's corps, 
preceded by Kilpatrick's cavalry, moved out on the Resaca road, 
in support of McPherson's troops, threatening Resaca and the 
railroad. Palmer's corps moved out of Snake Creek Gap, two 
miles northeast of Hooker, taking a course parallel with the 
Resaca road, with orders to proceed as far as the railroad. On 
reaching the vicinity of the railroad his skirmishers encountered 
those of the enemy strongly posted on the hills immediately west 
of the railroad, and continued a fierce skirmish with them until 
nightfall. Butterfield's division moved up in support of Hook- 
er's right. 

Sherman's order to McPherson for the opening of the battle 
bright and early on the 14th, was as follows: "At break of day 
renew the direct attack on Resaca, pushing it with vigor at all 
points till you draw the fire of artillery, if any, from the forts. 
Hooker and Palmer on your left will be strong on your left and 
press, the latter attempting to reach the railroad in a grand right- 
wheel on you, the pivot. The pontoons are nearly up and will be 
directed toward the mouth of Snake Creek, and should Johnston 
retreat south I will pass Schofield first, Thomas next, and you 
last. If we get Resaca at once set to work to make a trestle 
bridge to cross there." 

Along Johnston's lines on the night of the 13th the order 
was : "The troops will be under arms and in line at 3 o'clock 
to-morrow morning." 

The 14th opened with very heavy skirmishing all along the 
lines. Rapid artillery exchanges were made in the vicinity of 
Resaca, on the extreme Federal right, where Logan had posted 
the divisions of Osterhaus, Harrow and Smith. But the impor- 
tant movement of the morning, or, indeed, of the day, was on the 
extreme Federal left, where Schofield measured strength with 
Hood. The brunt of the Federal attack of the morning fell upon 
Hindman's division, centering hotly where Walthall's division 



232 Atlanta And Its Builders 

was posted, the position being on a bare knob, the highest on the 
ridge along which the Confederate army lay. A brigade of Bate's 
division had occupied the ground before it was relieved by Walt- 
hall early in the morning. Hastily forming his line and throwing 
forward his skirmishers, the gallant Mississippian connected with 
the lines already established on his right and left, and busily set 
about strengthening the earthworks left by the troops which had 
preceded him, and cutting out the undergrowth in his front. Cov- 
ering the front of the Mississippi regiments were three companies 
of sharpshooters, organized and drilled specially for such service. 
Walthall's command was the left brigade of Hood's corps, and 
on his left was posted Lewis's brigade, constituting the right of 
Hardee's corps. Tucker's brigade formed the rear support. Be- 
tween Lewis's right and the left of Walthall's intrenched line was 
Hotchkiss's battalion of artillery, behind which, under cover of 
the hill upon which it was posted, lay Brantly's consolidated regi- 
ment, its three right companies having been put in the trenches. 
General Walthall thus narrates the exciting events that subse- 
quently transpired in front of his position : 

"Hotchkiss's artillery was posted on a bald knob, and from 
it the line in either wing was slightly refused, conforming in its 
general direction to the course of the ridge, and forming an obtuse 
angle, of which it was the point. Immediately in front of this 
elevation is an open field in a valley, about 300 yards in width, 
extending from the base of the ridge we occupied to that of a 
wooded hill beyond, and through it runs a small creek nearly par- 
allel to the course of our trenches. This field extends some dis- 
tance to the left of the high point the artillery was on, and on the 
right and opposite the position of my center and right regiments 
it is 600 or 800 yards wide, but between it and the position of 
those regiments there is a skirt of woods some 200 or 300 yards 
in width, very uneven, and thickly covered with undergrowth and 
timber. Beyond the field and running nearly parallel with that 
part of the battle line occupied by Bate's division, and about half 
a mile from it, is a thickly timbered ridge, as high as the point on 
which our batteries were posted. About 1 1 a. m. the enemy's 
skirmish line encountered my own, but the latter held its ground, 
as directed, till forced back by a line of battle which advanced 



Resaca 233 

about 12. The artillery poured upon it a rapid and well-directed 
fire from the time it came in view, but it moved steadily forward 
till within 300 yards of my line, when, from both small-arms and 
artillery, it was subjected to a fire so deadly and destructive that it 
soon wavered and then gave way in confusion. In half an hour 
another line appeared and advanced under a similar fire, 
nearer than before, and until that part of it con- 
fronting the batteries was sheltered by means of a depression in 
the hill-side, within 150 yards of the guns. It was promptly dis- 
lodged by Colonel Brantly, who moved upon it with that part of 
his command not in the trenches, and at the same time the remain- 
der of the line, which was in the woods opposite my right and 
center, yielded to the constant and steady fire of the troops occu- 
pying those positions, and the whole line fell back. It crossed the 
field in the wildest disorder, under a damaging fire from the artil- 
lery, which was admirably served. As soon as the flying troops 
reached the hill beyond, a third line moved on us, but it was 
checked before advancing as far as either of the others had done, 
and fled before some parts of my command were able to discharge 
even a single volley. The enemy's sharpshooters, however, in 
large numbers secured themselves in the woods opposite my right 
and center, and so irregular and thickly wooded is the ground 
that it was found impossible to dislodge them. From these, and 
others posted in woods beyond the field in front of my left, a con- 
stant fire was kept up on my own line, as well as the batteries. 
The number of these sharpshooters in the woods nearest us was 
gradually increased by small bodies passing at irregular intervals 
rapidly across the open field to the cover of the woods. Many of 
them were enabled to shelter themselves behind some slight earth- 
works which had been constructed in front of the main intrenched 
line, before I occupied it, for skirmishers. By reason of the un- 
evenness of the ground, these were without the range of our artil- 
lery. Others found cover in a small ravine, and by sundown the 
force in the woods was almost as strong as a line of battle and 
very well protected. When the enemy made his first advance he 
employed his artillery, posted directly in our front, but with little 
effect ; but soon after his third repulse he opened a furious fire 
from the ridge opposite Bate's division, which furnished him very 



234 Atlanta And Its Builders 

fine positions for his guns, opposite my left and about three- 
quarters of a mile distant. The fire of both small arms and artil- 
lery was kept up till 8 130 in the evening. During the afternoon a 
battery from Martin's battalion was sent to my line. After the 
firing ceased most of the night was spent in strengthening the 
works all along the line, for they had been materially damaged 
during the day. 

"About 5 o'clock on the morning of the 15th the firing was 
resumed and was kept up incessantly during the entire day. In 
the night artillery had been concentrated on the point I occupied, 
and besides the small-arms, which were used without intermission, 
not less than thirty guns were employed against us, and with con- 
siderable effect. The guns on my left enfiladed the greater por- 
tion of my line of works, and the position would scarcely have 
been tenable but for the fact that its extreme left was its highest 
point, and in consequence furnished a partial protection for the 
remainder. The firing ceased about 8 p. m. 

"My loss in killed was disproportionate to the number 
wounded, because most of the casualties were caused by artillery, 
and those men struck by balls from small-arms were in most cases 
shot in the head or upper part of the body while in the act of firing 
over the breast-works. When the engagement opened I had in 
line 1,158 men. Of this number 48 were killed and 1 16 wounded 
and 5 of them mortally. 

"I think the loss of the enemy in my front was very heavy. 
None who have looked upon the field estimate it at less than 1,000 
in killed and wounded during both days." 

This attack, of which Walthall, as above narrated, bore the 
brunt, resulted in very aggressive movements on the part of 
Hood's corps, and had not Sherman hurried up reinforcements 
and greatly extended his line, there is little doubt but that the 
Confederates would have succeeded in turning Schofield's left. 
After nightfall of the 14th Schofield sent this message to Sher- 
man : "My right division ( Judah's) still rests in the position 
which it gained and has held during the day. My left division 
(Cox's) has been relieved by the Fourth Corps in the enemy's 
outer works, which it carried and held until relieved, and is now 
massed immediately in rear of the right of the Fourth Corps. 



Rcsaca 235 

Hovey's division, which has not yet been engaged, is massed 
immediately in rear of Jndah. My loss is very heavy, but my 
men are still in good heart. They have done nobly." 

The reinforcements were hurried up, but were slow in taking 
position, owing to the rugged nature of the ground, which was 
thickly wooded. General Newton, followed by General Wood, 
marched to the left of Schofield, and General Stanley moved down 
the Tilton and Resaca road toward the Confederate extreme right. 
The three relief columns adroitly made their concentration in 
immediate contact with the enemy's line. The artillery and mus- 
ketry fire was terrific. Still uncertain of holding his ground, 
Sherman had Hooker bring a division to the extreme left, and it 
arrived in the very nick of time, for Stanley's left had been 
turned by the desperately fighting Confederates and was being 
slowly but surely forced back. Along some portions of the widely 
extended line the Federals met with some slight successes. The 
outlying rifle pits of the Confederates were carried and held in the 
manner described by General Walthall. Hood was greatly elated 
by his partial success and lay ready to press the enemy all along 
his line at break of day- Of Hood's charge on the evening of the 
14th, General Johnston said : "The attack was extremely well 
conducted and executed, and before dark (it was begun at 6 p. m.) 
the enemy was driven from the ground. This encouraged me to 
hope for a more important success ; so Hood was directed to renew 
the fight next morning. His troops were greatly elated by this 
announcement made to them that evening." 

When Logan, on the extreme right, heard the roar of Scho- 
field's guns, he caused a feint attack to be made, and continued 
throughout the forenoon lively demonstrations to deter the enemy 
from sending reinforcements to Hood. From this point what 
followed can best be told in General Logan's own graphic lan- 
guage : "General Osterhaus took advantage of the feint to attack 
the enemy's skirmishers in the heavily wooded valley near the 
road. This was done in the most gallant manner. The bridge 
over Camp Creek was carried, and the Twelfth Missouri Infantry 
thrown forward into the woods previously occupied by the enemy, 
thus forming a living tete-de-pont, which in the ensuing move- 
ment proved of great value. Directly in front of M. L. Smith's 



236 Atlanta And Its Builders 

division, and at a distance varying from one-half to three-quarters 
of a mile from it, a series of low, irregular hills extended from the 
Oostenaula due north as far as the Resaca road. They were occu- 
pied by the enemy in force and were partially fortified. This 
position, if in our possession, would bring us within three-eighths 
of a mile of the enemy's nearest fort, and within half a mile of the 
railroad bridge, thus practically cutting the railroad. To gain 
this position had been the work intended for the next day, and a 
number of bridges were to have been thrown over Camp Creek on 
the night of the 14th instant to facilitate the passage of troops, but 
the continuous artillery and musketry fire on the left, and the 
necessity for us to make a further diversion, precipitated the 
movement, and at 5.30 p. m. of the 14th the assaulting column 
crossed Camp Creek as best they could, some over the bridge, 
others on logs, and others wading, with their arms and equipments 
held over their heads. The assaulting force consisted of Brig.- 
Gen. Charles R. Woods's brigade, of the First Division ; the Third 
Missouri Infantry, of the Third Brigade, being substituted for the 
Twenty-sixth Iowa Infantry, which, being engaged as skirmish- 
ers, was unavailable, on the left, and Brig.-Gen. Giles A. Smith's 
brigade of the Second Division, on the right. Both brigades 
were formed in double lines, and in front on the left of Woods's 
brigade the Twelfth Missouri Infantry, disposed as skirmishers, 
accompanied the assaulting columns. The average distance to 
the objective point was about one-third of a mile, over a marshy 
bottom, nearly clear of standing timber, but full of fallen tree 
trunks and thickets, and intersected with miry sloughs. At ten 
minutes before 6 p. m. the advance sounded, and the lines of gal- 
lant men started at the double-quick over the difficult ground, fol- 
lowed by the cheers of their fellow soldiers on the Camp Creek 
hills, and met by a storm of lead and iron from the enemy. The 
rebel infantry poured in from the hills in front a close, destruct- 
ive, and well-directed fire. The artillery from their forts opened 
in one continuous roar. The direction of most of their artillery 
fire was at first diagonally across the lines, the angle growing less 
as the storming column advanced, until it nearly enfiladed them. 
Their practice was excellent, the bursting of shells directly over 
the devoted lines seemed continuous, but neither thicket, nor 



Resaca 27,7 

slough, nor shot, nor shell, distracted for a moment the attention 
of the stormers from their objective point. Lines temporarily 
disarranged were reorganized without slackening the speed, until, 
without firing a shot, they, at the point of the bayonet, planted 
their colors on the summits of the conquered hills. Under the 
soldierly and efficient direction of their brigade commanders the 
troops were at once disposed in the most advantageous positions 
for holding the ground, and for protection from the artillery fire 
still furiously kept up. Pioneers and intrenching tools were sent 
over, and work was immediately commenced making rifle pits. 
The indications being that additional troops had been brought up 
by the enemy, and that an attempt would be made to retake the 
hills, the vigilant brigade commanders kept their troops ready for 
every emergency, and the line of skirmishers well advanced and 
on the alert. The indications proved true, and about 7.30 o'clock 
in the evening the skirmishers came in, and shortly after them a 
large force of the enemy, in column of regiments, advanced to the 
assault. They were met by a withering fire, which, at first, they 
received steadily, soon shook and finally broke their lines, and 
forced them to retire and reform. It being evident that their 
lines were of greater extent than ours, and that their next attack 
would endanger our flanks, General Lightburn's brigade, of the 
Second Division, was sent to their assistance. This brigade re- 
sponded in the most prompt and gallant manner. From the 
Camp Creek hills they had seen the progress of the engagement; 
had noted the first repulse of the enemy, and as the red flame from 
the muskets (showing plainly through the night) defined exactly 
the position of the opposing forces, they had seen the lines of the 
enemy gradually closing around and in rear of our flanks, every 
man felt he would be needed, and without orders prepared to go ; 
so that when the orders came it needed but the word, and the gal- 
lant brigade was wading Camp Creek waist deep, and in some 
places neck deep, and off at the double-quick. General Lightburn 
reached General Giles A. Smith's position with astonishing quick- 
ness, and, forming on his right, the united lines poured a fire on 
the enemy which swept them entirely from that front, defeated 
and disheartened. About the time General Lightburn's brigade 
was sent over, two regiments of the Sixteenth Corps, the Twenty- 



238 Atlanta And Its Builders 

fifth Wisconsin and Thirty-fifth New Jersey Infantry, were sent 
over by General McPherson, to reinforce General Woods in the 
position where they were most needed, and gallantly did their 
duty, until, about 10 p. m., the last body of the enemy retired, 
broken and disheartened, from the field." 

Shortly after dark, that night, Major Kuhn, of the Second 
brigade, Second division, reported that it had crossed the river 
at Calhoun Ferry and taken 41 prisoners. At about the same 
time, Brigadier-General Dodge, who had been sent by McPherson 
to reinforce Logan, reported that he had thrown a small force 
across the river, connecting with General Smith's right, and 
stretching to the river. He immediately intrenched. 

Sherman was highly gratified at McPherson's success in 
commanding Resaca from the hills of Camp Creek, and was not 
at all uneasy about the condition of his left. In the meantime 
he went ahead with his preparations to effect the passage of the 
Oostenaula by means of pontoons, the laying of the bridge being 
in charge of General Sweeney, the boats being kept out of sight 
till the last moment. Sweeney's attempt to lay the bridge on the 
14th was a failure, he being threatened by a force of Confederates 
crossing the river above him. He feared that he would be cut 
off from the army and drew back about a mile, out of danger. 
Logan's work forced Johnston to lay a new bridge across the Oos- 
tenaula. Sherman had the gift of almost divining in advance 
his enemy's movements, and his providence was admirable. The 
work of throwing the bridge across the river, and the following 
order to the cavalry general, Garrard, is proof of this. This or- 
der was given at 8 o'clock on the morning of the 14th, before the 
battles at his left and right had been fought : "You will move 
your whole command down the valley toward Rome in one or two 
columns by Dirt Town or Dry Creek. If you can possibly cross 
Oostenaula make a strike for the railroad anywhere north of 
Kingston. Do this in your own way, but do it thoroughly and 
well. I will commence crossing McPherson about Lay's Ferry 
near the mouth of Snake Creek to-day ; he will move on the Rome 
road ; communicate with him but do not wait for him. If it be 
impossible to cross the Oostenaula with even a raiding force, then 
threaten Rome, and the Coosa below Rome, that the enemy may 



Rcsaca 239 

not receive provisions, forage, or reinforcements from that direc- 
tion. Make your own arrangements as to wagons and artillery ; 
the less wheels you have, the better; but I leave it to you — only 
act with the utmost possible energy and celerity. Johnston is 
retreating and is encumbered with wagons. I think he is mak- 
ing for x\llatoona, but it is not positively demonstrated yet. The 
breaking of the railroad north of Kingston is desirable on any 
hypothesis." 

On the morning of the 15th Sherman was ready for an over- 
whelming advance. His intentions are embodied in the follow- 
ing portion of an order to Thomas : "Now you have Howard's 
and Hooker's corps beyond Camp Creek looking south, with 
Schofield, as it were, in reserve, and the less time we give the 
enemy to fortify the better. I want to hear the sound of that 
line advancing directly down the road on Resaca till it comes 
within range of the forts. Whilst this advance is being made 
McPherson's guns will make the bridge and vicinity too hot for 
the passage of the troops. I am very anxious this advance should 
be made to-day, that we may secure a line whose left rests on the 
Connesauga. I have sent Corse down to see what progress 
Sweeney is making." 

The same morning, it is related as an anecdote of Sherman 
at Resaca, that, after working all night on his maps and multiplex 
orders, he walked out of his headquarters and sat wearily down 
on a log hard by, soon falling fast asleep. The men of a brigade 
swinging by to reinforce Hooker on the left, saw the grim chief- 
tain in the spell of Morpheus, and a high private in the rear rank, 
making a grimace at "the old man," concluded a slurring remark 
with the expression : "A pretty way we are commanded, that is !" 
Sherman, aroused from his nap by the noise of marching feet, 
caught the fellow's remark. "Stop, my man," said he in a tone 
of kind expostulation ; "while you were sleeping, last night, I was 
planning for you, sir; and now I was snatching a wink of sleep." 

On the night of the 14th Johnston sent Walker's division to 
Lay's Ferry, to prevent, if possible, Sherman's movement across 
the Oostenaula at that point, he having heard that the pontoons 
were down and McPherson's advance guard crossing. This re- 
port proved to be a mistake, but it resulted in Hood's orders to 



240 Atlanta And Its Builders 

charge the left of the enemy early in the morning being revoked, 
as that commander was expected to be needed down at the river 
at that time. As a result of the misapprehension the continued 
success of the Confederates on the extreme right was made im- 
possible. At the time of revoking Hood's orders to advance, 
Johnston directed Lieutenant-Colonel S. W. Presstman, his chief 
engineer, to lay a pontoon bridge a mile above the railroad, and 
to make the necessary roadways connecting with it. He knew 
that Sherman was preparing to get around him at Calhoun and 
proposed to duplicate his movement in falling back from Dalton. 
The massing of heavy reinforcements by Sherman on his left had 
settled in Johnston's mind the question of an aggressive move- 
ment in that direction, and the situation on Sherman's right was 
not a whit more reassuring. Under the circumstances, the Con- 
federates did magnificently on the heights of Camp Creek on the 
15th. 

In Hood's front skirmishing was renewed early in the morn- 
ing, and the sun was but a few hours high when both sides were 
preparing for a sally in front of their works. The artillery 
opened with rapid detonations, and the sharpshooters, with whom 
the woods swarmed, actively pursued their deadly occupation. 
Scores of men on both sides were shot through the head while 
peeping over the parapet. The men of Brown's, Reynolds's and 
Cummings's gallant brigades who had covered Hindman's division 
with glory by their partially successful effort to turn the enemy's 
left on the previous evening, stood ready to repel Hooker's im- 
pending assault, and chafed because they were not permitted to 
take the initiative with the bayonet. The forenoon had nearly 
passed. General Stevenson was in the act of opening with Cor- 
but's battery, just put in position with much difficulty, upon a 
Federal battery that was playing havoc behind the Confederate 
works, when the assaulting column of the enemy swept down into 
the ravine, a few paces from the battery, and in such a position 
that its guns could not be turned upon them. The story of this 
battery, which the Confederates had to abandon, and which the 
Federals could not capture during the progress of the battle, is 
interesting. Brigadier-General Geary, in command of the Fed- 
eral line in the immediate vicinity, tells the story as follows : 



Resaca 241 

"The very irregular formation of the ground gave the enemy 
unusual facilities for cross-firing and enfilading the ground to be 
passed over, and they, in posting both their artillery and infantry, 
availed themselves fully of these advantages. The hills, steep 
and rough, were thickly wooded ; the narrow ravines between, 
generally cleared. Immediately in front of the position on which 
my command formed for the attack, a small road passed down a 
narrow ravine running from the enemy's main line to the Dalton 
road. Everything being in readiness, the advance was ordered. 
Ireland's brigade crossed a ravine and a hill swept by the enemy's 
artillery and musketry fire, and drove the enemy impetuously 
from another hill, and, turning a little to the right, charged with 
wild, ringing cheers for the capture of a battery, which from a 
key position was dealing death on every side. At the same mo- 
ment on Ireland's left a portion of Butterfield's division was rac- 
ing with him for the same deadly prize. The advance of both 
commands reached the battery nearly together, the One Hundred 
and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, of Ireland's brigade, un- 
der Col. George A. Cobham, leading and forcing its way through 
the jaws of death, till they had their hands upon the guns and 
their colors on the earth-works, from which part of the gunners 
had been driven and the rest killed or captured. This work was 
a sunken one at the crest of the hill, and open toward its rear. 
Twenty yards in rear was a line of strong breast-works, from 
which a deadly shower of bullets poured around and into the bat- 
tery, rendering it impossible for men to live there. Cobham, 
with that cool and accurate judgment which never forsook him, 
formed his line, now augmented by other portions of the brigade, 
within fifteen yards of the guns, where by the formation of the 
ground his troops were less exposed to the terrible fire, while at 
the same time his own muskets covered the battery from the front. 
During the advance of Ireland's brigade a body of troops from 
another division, sweeping through the brigade, had severed it, 
and by my orders all of it, excepting three regiments, were posted 
in reserve, and Colonel Cobham was directed to take command 
of the three regiments, which had now silenced and held under 
command of their guns the battery. Three regiments of Busch- 
beck's brigade, which had advanced gallantly, driving the enemy 
from two hills on the left of Cobham, were not far from him. 

16-1 



242 Atlanta And Its Builders 

With these three regiments Colonel Lockman was now ordered to 
report to Colonel Cobham, which he did promptly. Between 3 
and 4 p. m., I received orders from Major-General Hooker, com- 
manding the corps, to relieve whatever of General Butterfield's 
division was then holding position in the front line. Half of my 
Second and Third Brigades were then with Cobham. From the 
remainder of my command the order was at once complied with, 
and all of General Butterfield's troops were relieved, and by the 
direct order of Major-General Hooker, as well as my own, 
Colonel Cobham was directed to make every effort to secure and 
bring off the battery in his front. To this end I sent him as re- 
inforcements the Fifth Ohio Volunteers from Candy's brigade 
and other regiments from the Second and Third Brigades, num- 
bering in all ten regiments, and invested him with full command 
of all the troops at that isolated point. I had now sent him one- 
half of my entire division. Our lines were now strengthened 
and established in readiness for further operations. General Wil- 
liams's division being formed entirely on my left, and General 
Butterfield's division being wholly withdrawn and posted in re- 
serve. Musketry firing was kept up during the afternoon and 
night, and strong works were thrown up on the hills occupied by 
our main lines. 

"In the isolated position held by Cobham it was impossible 
to erect even a slight barricade without receiving a terrible fire 
from the enemy fifty yards distant. In front of my left and Wil- 
liams's right was a long, cleared field occupying two hills and a 
narrow ravine, and extending to a wooded hill on which was the 
enemy's main line. In front of my right was a field occupying 
a long, wide ravine, extending from the right of my line to a 
cleared hill on which was also the enemy's main line. Through 
this ravine ran the road previously referred to. Across the ra- 
vine to my right were lines of intrenchments held by the Fourth 
Corps and facing nearly eastward at right angles to my front. 
In front of the center of my main line a series of timbered spurs 
and knobs extended half a mile toward the enemy's main lines to 
the detached position held by Cobham. The troops sent to his 
support by me were so disposed as to hold his flank as well as pos- 
sible. The only route of communication with him was by way 



Rcsaca 243 

of these timbered ridges, which were swept in most places by mus- 
ketry and artillery fires from the enemy's main lines. About 5 
p. m. the enemy (Stevenson's division) debouched from the 
woods in front of my left and General Williams's right, and 
charged in column, with the effort to gain possession of the 
ridges in our front. The attempt, if successful, would have ex- 
posed Cobham to attack from every side and have forced him to 
abandon his position ; but the attack, though a very spirited one, 
failed. A tremendous fire concentrated on him from the lines of 
my division, and those of General Williams, almost destroying 
his leading regiments (of Brown's rebel brigade), and sent the 
attacking column back in confusion to their intrenchments, after 
half an hour of sharp fighting. In this affair the artillery on 
both sides took an active part, cannister and shrapnel being prin- 
cipally used. Colonel Ireland being wounded by a piece of shell, 
the command devolved on Colonel Cobham. That officer being 
already intrusted with the command of six regiments, and the 
special work of securing the battery in his front, I directed 
Colonel Rickards, of the 29th Pennsylvania, to assume command 
of such regiments as remained in the main line. Wlieeler's bat- 
tery had taken position in my line behind log works constructed 
for the purpose. About dusk Colonel Cobham received instruc- 
tions to dig through the works in front of the guns and bring 
them off with drag-ropes during the night. The necessary tools 
and ropes were sent out and the work performed with alacrity and 
tact by the officers and men under his immediate supervision. In 
the darkness of the night the men crept silently on hands and 
knees to the little fort and carefully removed the logs, earth-works 
and stones in front of the four guns. At midnight all was ready. 
The drag-ropes were attached and manned ; a line of brave men 
lay with pieces aimed at the crest of the hill, and at one effort the 
guns were drawn out and taken rattling down the hill. The 
enemy, on the alert, sprang over their breastworks and furiously 
attacked Cobham's line. The sharp musketry fire aroused all 
the troops. Those in the intrenchments to our right across the 
ravine, not knowing the meaning of it, evidently believed it to be 
an attack upon their main line, and opened a tremendous musketry 
fire, much of which poured into Cobham's lines from his right and 



244 Atlanta And Its Builders 

rear. Word was quickly sent them, and their firing was stopped. 
Cobham held his position, drove back the enemy, and sent the 
guns, four 12-pounder brass pieces, to my headquarters."' 

Very thrilling, but there is ground to believe that General 
Geary has given his imagination too free rein toward the last part 
of his narrative. As a matter of fact, Hood's corps was not in 
position on the Camp Creek ridge when Geary's brigade "cap- 
tured" the four 12-pounders, but on the march away from Resaca 
with the rest of Johnston's army. Hood refers to the guns and 
their fate in his report, thus: "During the attack on General 
Stevenson a 4-gun battery [was] in position thirty paces in front 
of his line, the gunners being driven from it and the battery left 
in dispute. The army withdrew that night and the guns, with- 
out caissons or limber-boxes, were abandoned to the enemy, the 
loss of life it would have cost to withdraw them being considered 
worth more than the guns." General Johnston had this to say 
of the circumstance : "From our view on the morning of the 
15th. Major-General Stevenson advanced four guns some eighty 
yards and began to intrench them. General Hood had their fire 
opened at once. A ravine leading from the Federal line within 
easy musket range enabled the Federal troops to drive away the 
gunners ; but their attempt to take off the guns was frustrated by 
the Confederate musketry. So the pieces remained in place, and 
fell into the possession of Hooker's corps on the 16th, after we 
abandoned the position." 

The fighting in the afternoon of the 15th in the vicinity of 
this unmanned batter}- was stubborn and bloody. The ground 
the Confederates yielded was of no great importance, and after 
they had withstood a number of determined assaults, they at- 
tempted a counter-charge of considerable magnitude. The 
charge, made by Stewart's division, unsustained, was the result of 
a blunder. The report that McPherson was crossing the Oos- 
tenaula having been found to be untrue. Hood was again ordered 
to assault Hooker in his front. Just as he was on the point of 
moving forward, positive intelligence was received from General 
Walker that the Federal right was actually crossing the river. 
Hastily Hood's fighting orders were countermanded a second 
time, but the order from corps headquarters to Stewart was de- 



Rcsaca 245 

layed, and he went in alone. The charge was made at 4 o'clock 
in the afternoon. The punishment Stewart received was terri- 
ble, but borne with great heroism. Some of the regiments en- 
gaged were in a few minutes reduced in numbers to the full quota 
of companies. Clayton and Stovall led the charge, supported by 
Gibson and Baker. Maney's brigade and a small body of cav- 
alry under Colonel Holman moved out on the right, outflanking 
and covering Stovall's right. The Federal intrenchments 
against which the division advanced were strongly constructed 
and manned, and defended by some deadly batteries. The ground 
was rough and covered thickly with underbrush, amid which the 
regiments lost their alignment and even companies became sepa- 
rated. Stewart did not return to his trenches, notwithstanding 
the hopelessness of his position, until notified of the change of 
orders which had made him a victim. There w r ere a number of 
conspicuous individual acts of heroism in this charge. After 
having two color-bearers killed. Colonel Lankford, of the 38th 
Alabama, was last seen by his comrades with the colors in his 
hands. Private John S. McMath, of Stanford's battery, after 
his captain was killed and no one remained in the battery but him- 
self, continued to serve the gun alone in the most perilous situa- 
tion imaginable. Rev. J. P. McMullen, an aged Presbyterian 
missionary to Baker's brigade, went forward to where the carnage 
raged fiercest, and while extending to the dying the comforts of 
religion, shared their tragic fate. 

Logan kept up almost a continuous artillery fire throughout 
the 15th, the railroad and wagon bridge, and such town as there 
was at Resaca being at his mercy. The skirmishing along his 
lines was hot, but Polk seems to have had no orders to engage the 
Illinoisan at close quarters. The statements of the leaders as to 
the magnitude and importance of the operations on the Federal 
right are conflicting. Sherman said McPherson moved his 
whole line of battle forward, till he had gained a ridge overlook- 
ing the town, and that several attempts to drive him away were 
repulsed with bloody loss. Johnston seems to have attempted 
to depreciate the whole affair. In his Century magazine paper 
he declared: "The fact is, near night of the 14th, forty or fifty 
skirmishers in front of our extreme left were driven from the 



246 Atlanta And Its Builders 

slight elevation they occupied, but no attempt was made to retake 
it." But Johnston contradicts himself to a considerable degree. 
In his published "Narrative" he speaks of the same event as fol- 
lows: "On riding from the right to the left, after nightfall, I 
learned that Lieutenant-General Polk's advanced troops had been 
driven from a hill in front of his left, which commanded our 
bridges at short range." 

At noon on the 15th, General Corse, who was engaged with 
General Sweeney in throwing a pontoon bridge across at Lay's 
Ferry, sent word to Sherman that the bridge was finished, one 
brigade across, and the balance of Sweeney's command crossing. 
The enemy was reported as not visible in any large force, and the 
troops that had crossed, intrenching. At 5 o'clock Corse had 
met Walker, and reported : "After gaining possession of the 
other bank and getting two brigades into position, Jackson's 
brigade, of Walker's division, Hardee's corps, assaulted in line of 
battle and drove our men toward the river till the batteries in posi- 
tion on this side opened with such execution as to send them back, 
followed by our men, capturing and killing quite a number. The 
assault proved advantageous to us in two ways : one, it gave us 
command of a better position, and another, it so demoralized the 
enemy as to deter him from attempting the same thing again. 
We are now in possession of a ridge about half a mile from the 
bridges, which, when properly fortified, which will be done to- 
night, will resist a large force. I have been over the ground and 
think the position quite strong. We found forty dead rebels on 
the field; we lost about 100 killed and wounded." 

Johnston's army quietly crept from behind its earthworks 
about midnight and crossed the Oostenaula, Hardee's and Polk's 
corps by the railroad and trestle bridges, and Hood's on the pon- 
toon bridge that Johnston had succeeded in throwing across some 
distance up the river. It was near the first glint of dawn when 
it was positively known to the Union skirmishers, feeling cau- 
tiously up to the silent Southern works, that Joe Johnston had 
"folded his tent like the Arab." When McPherson made the 
discovery, he swung his lines down to the pontoons, but a short 
time behind the enemy, and it is said that one of his shells struck 
one of the rear Confederate regiments, passing over the Resaca 



Resaca 247 

bridge, at a double-quick, killing and wounding an astonishingly 
large number. It was not fairly daylight when Osterhaus's and 
Smith's skirmishers entered Resaca, driving Johnston's rear 
guard across the bridge while in the act of setting fire to it. They 
were too late to save the railroad bridge, but saved the wagon 
bridge, upon which part of Sherman's army crossed in pursuit, 
a few hours later. General Dodge, of McPherson's advance col- 
umns, was close enough upon Johnston's heels to be turned upon 
and attacked, three miles beyond Lay's Ferry, and Logan hastened 
to his assistance. 

On the morning of the 16th Sherman wired General Halleck, 
at Washington : "We are in possession of Resaca. It is a 
strongly fortified position besides being a strong natural position. 
We saved the common road bridge, but the railroad bridge is 
burned. The railroad is good to this point, and our cars will run 
here to-day. Our columns are now crossing the Oostenaula; 
General McPherson at Lay's Ferry, General Thomas here, and 
General Schofield about Newton. We will pursue smartly to the 
Etowah. Generals Stoneman's and Garrard's cavalry are trying 
to get in rear of the enemy, and I hope will succeed. Our diffi- 
culties will increase beyond the Etowah, but if Johnston will not 
fight us behind such works as we find here, I will fight him on any 
open ground he may stand at. All well and in high spirits. We 
have about 1,000 prisoners and 8 guns." 

As a postscript, he wired a few hours later : "Railroad 
track finished and cars in. Columns are well across Oostenaula, 
and I will aim to reach Kingston to-morrow, and the Etowah on 
the third day. I take it for granted Rome will fall as a conse- 
quence." 



CHAPTER XXI 

BACK TO THE ETOWAH 

The losses of the contending armies at Resaca were heavy, 
considering the brief period and extent of the fighting. The fig- 
ures are : Federal, 2,747 ; Confederate, 2,800. The Confeder- 
ates suffered quite a good many captures. While Sherman was 
pushing on after Johnston, Major-General Dan E. Sickles, who 
was a spectator of the battle, sent this message to President Lin- 
coln, on the 1 6th : 

"I have accompanied General Sherman's army in the suc- 
cessful campaign from the Chattanooga to Resaca, witnessing the 
retreat of the enemy from successive lines of fortified positions 
through forty miles of mountains. If Georgia cannot be defended 
on its northern frontier it cannot be defended anywhere. The 
condition of our army is admirable, all that could be desired. The 
operations of McPherson on the right, and Thomas on the center, 
rendered the enemy's works at Resaca untenable besides threaten- 
ing his communication. Johnston's retreat, out-maneuvered at 
Dalton and driven from Resaca, will demoralize his army to the 
level of Bragg's after Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge. The 
advance of Logan's corps on the right on Saturday, and Hooker's 
assault yesterday on Hood's intrenched camp on our left, both of 
which I was fortunate enough to see, will rank among the brilliant 
achievements of the war. Among the trophies I may mention a 
battery and battalion of prisoners with its colonel and flag. The 
assault was made by Butterfield's division, supported by Williams 
and Geary. The enemy abandoned artillery, small-arms, ma- 
terials and subsistence collected at the depot. Prisoners are 
brought in every hour. The aggregate must be large. Although 
the enemy destroyed the bridges over the Oostenaula to escape 
pursuit, Sherman is already after him and close upon his heels. 
To-morrow I return to Nashville en route for the Mississippi." 

248 



Back To The Etowah 249 

Johnston's skirmishers had hardly joined his rear guard, 
slipping out of the abandoned works and crossing the river in 
imminent danger of capture, when General Sherman issued the 
following- special field orders governing his plan of pursuit : 

Special Field Orders, Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 

No. 8. In the Field, Resaca, Ga., May 16, 1864. 

The enemy having retreated south, the following general 
plan will be pursued until he is beyond the Etowah River : 

I. Major-General Thomas will pursue substantially by the 
line of the railroad to Kingston and Etowah bridge, keeping his 
forces well in hand at all times, but using two or three roads when 
available. 

II. Major-General McPherson will move substantially by 
the Rome road, keeping up communication with the center. 

III. Major-General Schofield will get over on the old Fed- 
eral road from Spring Place to Cassville, or other road in that 
neighborhood. 

IV. The repairs of the railroad and telegraph lines must be 
pushed forward with all possible rapidity, but troops must not 
wait for them. 

V. Commanders of armies and the cavalry divisions will 
forward all prisoners of war to Resaca, there to be delivered to 
the provost-marshal of the Department of the Cumberland, and 
sent to the rear. Provost-marshals will be particular in making 
and sending the proper record of prisoners; deserters and refu- 
gees from the enemy will be likewise rendezvoused, and kept sepa- 
rate from prisoners, and disposed of according to known orders. 

VI. The provost-marshal of the Department of the Cum- 
berland will make arrangements to receive at Resaca all prisoners 
collected by the above orders, and send them to the proper depots 
of prisoners at the North with as much expedition as possible. 

VII. The regiments of dismounted Indiana cavalry now at 
the Camp of Instruction in Nashville, are hereby assigned to the 
Department of the Cumberland, and the commanding general of 
that department and army will give all the necessary orders for 
their proper employment. 

VIII. Major-General Thomas is charged with the duty of 
guarding all railroads to our rear, including all the country north 



250 Atlanta And Its Builders 

of the Tennessee, and the post and bridge at Decatur, Ala., and 
Major-General McPherson may call forward to his army the ef- 
fective corps and regiments now at and around Huntsville as soon 
as he can, leaving only small guards till they are relieved by de- 
tachments of the Army of the Cumberland, and his non-effective 
force, under suitable officers, will be left at any suitable point to 
the rear, say Stevenson or Bridgeport. 

IX. Major-General McPherson will collect a force of about 
4,000 or 5,000 men out of the militia and garrisons of Paducah 
and Columbus, Ky., and place them at some suitable point on the 
Tennessee River, about Eastport, to serve as a threat to North 
Alabama, and as a support to General Washburn's operations in 
Mississippi. 

By order of Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman : 

L. M. Dayton, Aidc-dc-Camp. 

The field orders of the Confederate army, as given by the 
three corps commanders, were as follows : 

Orders.] Headquarters Hardee's Corps, 

May 16, 1864. 
All ordnance wagons will be started at once to Adairsville. 
The troops will move to Adairsville to-morrow morning at the 
hours below indicated and in the following succession : Cle- 
burne's division at 1 a. m.. Bate's division at 1.30 a. m.. 
Walker's division at 2 a. m. Cheatham's division will bring up 
the rear. Each division commander will protect his front by 
pickets. Skirmishers will be drawn in half an hour before the 
division starts. 

By command of Lieutenant-General Hardee : 

T. B. Roy, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

Circular.] Headquarters Hood's Corps, 

In the Field, May 16, 1864. 

The march of this corps will be resumed to-morrow morning 
in the direction of Adairsville in the following order : 

Hindman's division will move at 3 o'clock, Stevenson's divi- 



Back To The Etowah 251 

sion will move at 4 o'clock, Stewart's division will move at 5 
o'clock. One battalion of artillery will accompany each division. 
By command of J. B. Hood, lieutenant-general, command- 
ing. J. W. Ratchford, 

Assistan t A d jut an t-Gcncral. 



[Circular.] Calhoun, May 16, 1864. 

The troops of this command will be in readiness to take up 
the line of march to-morrow morning at 4 o'clock. The order 
of march is right in front, Loring's division leading. Artillery 
w 7 ill follow their divisions. 

By command of Lieutenant-General Polk : 

D. West, 
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 

President Davis's answer to General Johnston's dispatch an- 
nouncing his retirement from Resaca, was cut off at the latter 
place by Sherman's operator. It read: "Your dispatch of 16th 
received; read with disappointment. I hope the reinforcements 
sent you will enable you to achieve important results." 

Sherman's army stretched out over hill and valley, nearly 
to Rome, like a living Chinese wall of steel, feeling cautiously 
ahead as it went. It was not allowed to lose a particle of its 
rigid discipline and adherence to the plan outlined by the com- 
mander-in-chief, though flushed with success and conscious of its 
overwhelming brute strength. Every hour some portion of this 
invincible column had to brush aside a dogged line of Confederate 
skirmishers, a dashing troop of Confederate cavalry, or stop to 
silence a battery lying in ambush. Wheeler nagged Sherman's 
flanks like a pack of sleuth hounds, and every forest in his front 
was likely to resound with the "rebel yell." In certain quarters 
Sherman's advance was almost a continuous skirmish. After 
Dodge's encounter with the Confederate rear guard three miles 
across the Oostenaula. in the morning, there was no collision in 
considerable force until the middle of the afternoon of the 16th, 
when Hardee, isolated in the rear, turned at bay. Major-Gen- 
eral Walker, whose division had been at Calhoun for some five or 
six days to prevent a movement of the enemy across the river 



Back To The Etowah 253 

there, reported part of McPherson's command advancing from 
the ferry west of Calhoun. Hardee was at once put in position 
to meet the advance, with Polk and Hood on the left and center. 
Nothing of a threatening character being in sight. Hood and Polk 
continued to fall back leisurely, leaving Hardee to protect the 
rear. About noon the enemy were reported advancing in force, 
from the river west of Calhoun, driving the cavalry in. The 
skirmishers of the two armies soon came in collision, and brisk 
firing ensued. At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon Hardee's line 
of skirmishers was strengthened and an advance ordered for the 
purpose of developing the enemy. It w T as handsomely executed 
by Walker and Cleburne, on the front line, who drove the Fed- 
erals some distance and held their advanced position in the face 
of the oncoming host until 1 o'clock on the morning of the 17th. 
At that hour Hardee retired in compact columns, leaving his cav- 
alry to cover his rear until it had got into Adairsville. 

In the meantime. General French arrived at Rome with 
Sears's brigade, and reported that the other brigades were close 
behind and would get in on the 17th. The entire division ex- 
pected to leave for Adairsville that day, but General French was 
delayed by the threat of a momentary attack on Rome. Late on 
the afternoon of the 17th he wired Johnston: "As I was em- 
barking on the cars at 1 p. m.. General Davidson informed me 
the enemy in force was but two miles and a half from Rome, and 
that he had but 150 men. I had to remain to meet this force 
and protect the town and await the arrival of my other brigade. 
The skirmishing is pretty severe. A prisoner reports a force of 
cavalry and a division of infantry with artillery. When I drive 
them back shall leave here, unless otherwise ordered, and join 
you." 

The rear of the Confederate army reached Adairsville from 
Resaca at noon on the 17th. Sherman's center, following" 
straight behind, was skirmishing with Hardee's cavalry close to 
the town, by 3 o'clock. The Federals were not expected up so 
early, but by dint of great activity, Hardee's corps was in posi- 
tion to confront them in good season, and by dark the cracking 
of the sharpshooters' rifles was continuous. Cheatham, who 
occupied Hardee's front line, bore the brunt of the skirmish-fire, 



254 Atlanta And Its Builders 

which hourly threatened to swell to the roar of musketry. The 
troops were ordered to stand to arms and be ready to move for- 
ward against the enemy at a moment's notice. The Confederate 
defenses were slight, having been hurriedly made, and the posi- 
tion did not please General Johnston for either defensive or of- 
fensive operations. The country between Resaca and Adairs- 
ville was cultivated and rolling, affording few natural strong 
positions. Sherman rejoiced at the change from Rocky Face 
and Camp Creek Ridge, hoping to get a pitched battle in an open 
field. But he was doomed to disappointment. 

The Federals made short work of Rome. Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Jeff. C. Davis, in command of McPherson's extreme right, 
supported by McCook's cavalry, gave General French employment 
a very short time after he left the train which was to have borne 
him to Kingston. French promptly moved forward to the at- 
tack, about an hour before sunset, on the 17th, inflicting upon 
Davis a loss of 150, but himself suffering a greater loss. He was 
compelled to seek the shelter of the fortifications, after dark, leav- 
ing his dead upon the field. When the Federal skirmishers 
moved up to renew the attack in the morning, they found the 
works abandoned and the bridges across the Etowah and Oos- 
tenaula burned. The defenders of Rome continued to hold their 
works on the south bank of the Coosa, which commanded the 
town, but these too they abandoned, after a few shells had been 
thrown over the parapets. General French hastened to join 
Polk, by the latter's imperative orders, and General Davidson took 
the Rome garrison along with French. Before leaving, a good 
deal of property was destroyed, but the iron-works were left in 
good condition and fell into the hands of the enemy. The Con- 
federate cavalry continued to hover about Rome, protecting 
French in making his junction with Polk, but it was in poor con- 
dition for effective resistance against the Federal cavalry. Its 
officers reported that their horses had had nothing to eat for two 
days. 

While Johnston's army paused in brief indecision at Adairs- 
ville, Sherman made determined efforts to cut his communications 
with cavalry raids. Garrard and Murray, on Sherman's right 
flank, were ordered to make a dash at the railroad between Rome 



Back To The Etowah 255 

and Kingston, and Stoneman, on his other flank, was ordered to 
do likewise, between Kingston and the Etowah bridge. The ob- 
ject was, of course to prevent the Confederates from removing 
their war material or using the railroad to concentrate their 
troops. The railroad was not broken in time to prevent either. 

Before midnight of the 17th the Confederate army was again 
in motion, headed for Kingston. From the best testimony ob- 
tainable, Johnston was almost persuaded to make a stand at 
Adairsville. He called a council of all his general officers, in- 
cluding Wheeler of the cavalry, and anxiously sought their advice. 
In this council it was understood that General Hardee was 
for giving battle without yielding another mile of ground, he as- 
serting that he had information to the effect that but one corps of 
the Federal army confronted them, McPherson being absent in 
the neighborhood of Rome, and another corps having just been 
sent to reinforce Grant in Virginia. In this Hardee was over- 
ruled by the other lieutenant-generals, who did not credit the story 
about but one corps of the enemy being in front. Wheeler de- 
clared that the whole of Sherman's army was then west of Ooth- 
kaloga creek, just beyond Adairsville, and that only a detachment 
of McPherson's corps had been sent to Rome. The map before 
the group was intently scanned by Johnston, and putting his 
pencil on Cassville, he asked his colleagues in arms how long it 
would take all his army to go by the same road to that point. 
Hood protested that it could not be done, and Hardee declared 
they would have to fight where they were. While the conference 
was going on, firing could be heard at Rome. Johnston finally 
decided to proceed to Cassville, where he promised to deliver 
battle. He ordered his pontoons taken to Etowah. 

On the morning of the 17th General Sherman wired Wash- 
ington : "General McPherson is all across the Oostenaula at 
Lay's Ferry, and is out abreast of Calhoun. General Thomas is 
across here, where we have improvised three bridges, and General 
Schofield has passed the Connesauga at Fite's Ferry, and will pass 
the Coosawattee at or near Field's. To-night I propose my three 
heads of columns to be abreast of Adairsville. Johnston will be 
compelled to fight on this side of the Etowah, or be forced to 
divide his army, or give up Rome or x<\llatoona. If he attempts 



256 Atlanta And Its Builders 

to hold both I will break the line at Kingston. If he concentrates 
at Kingston, I will break his railroads right and left, and fight him 
square in front. My belief is he will abandon Kingston and 
Rome, and retire to Allatoona, beyond the Etowah, in which case 
I will fix up my roads to Kingston, and then determine in what 
manner to advance beyond the Etowah. It will take five days to 
repair the railroad bridge here. We are abundantly supplied, and 
our animals are improving on the grass and grain fields, which 
now afford good pasture. I start in person now for Adairsville. 
I think everything has progressed and is progressing as favorably 
as we could expect ; but I know we must have one or more bloody 
battles, such as have characterized Grant's terrific struggles. John- 
ston has Hardee's, Hood's and Polk's corps, with irregulars and 
militia on his lines of communication. His cavalry outnumbers 
ours, but acts on the defensive." 

At the same time he sent the following message to General 
Thomas, which is reproduced as an evidence of the keen foresight 
of the Federal commander-in-chief : "It is probable on reaching 
Adairsville in the early morning we will find the enemy has re- 
treated via Cassville. If such be the case I want you to put your 
head of column after him as far as Cassville, when I will deter- 
mine whether to continue the pursuit as far as Cartersville or let 
him go. I prefer he should divide between Rome and Carters- 
ville, in which event you will march directly on Kingston. I will 
be with you in the morning, and only mention these points that 
you may instruct your leading division. I wish you would put 
one of your boldest division commanders to lead to-morrow, and 
explain to him that General McPherson is close on his right and 
General Schofield on his left, and that two heavy columns of cav- 
alry, Garrard's and Stoneman's, have orders to strike the road, 
the one between Kingston and Rome, and the other between 
Kingston and Cartersville. Instead of skirmishing only with the 
rear guard it should be attacked promptly by his whole division, 
deployed in whole or part, according to the ground, but it should 
be preceded by the usual skirmish line. A real battle to-morrow 
might save us much work at a later period." 

From Adairsville, Sherman's army moved closely behind 
Johnston toward Kingston, his railroad trains following right up 



Back To The Etozuah 257 

to his rear. This was one peculiarity of Sherman's promptness. 
When his enemy evacuated a place, the whistle of his locomotive 
was heard before the retiring rear-guard was out of sight. Sher- 
man was chagrined because he did not succeed in cutting off some 
railroad supplies of the Confederates at Adairsville. Five heav- 
ily loaded trains left the station a few hours before the Federals 
marched into the town and took possession. His orders were to 
keep close upon Johnston's rear, until he made a stand, when his 
generals were commanded to attack. Sherman did not expect a 
battle at Kingston, but thought Johnston woud turn and fight at 
Cassville. All his orders show this plainly. However, he was 
prepared for any emergency. To General Halleck, at Washing- 
ton, he telegraphed on the morning of the 18th, from Adairsville: 
"Johnston passed last night here. We overtook him at sundown 
yesterday, and skirmished heavily with his rear until dark. In 
the morning he was gone and we are after him. By to-night all 
the heads of columns will be near Kingston, whither Johnston is 
moving. Whether he proposes to fight there or not we cannot 
tell, but to-morrow will know, for I propose to attack him where- 
ever he may be. Our cavalry has not yet succeeded in breaking 
the railroad to his rear. I now have four heads of columns, all 
directed on Kingston, with orders to be within four miles by 
night. Weather fine, roads good, and the country more open and 
less mountainous." 

Johnston was determined to fight north of the Etowah, if 
suitable ground could be found to offset the enemy's superior 
numbers. The finger of destiny seemed to point to Cassville. He 
expressed himself sorely disappointed in "the lay of the land" at 
Calhoun and Adairsville. As he approached Kingston, he formu- 
lated an aggressive plan, which can be best understood by quoting 
his own language. Of this plan he said: "Two roads lead 
southward from Adairsville — one directly through Cassville ; the 
other follows the railroad through Kingston, turning to the left 
there, and rejoins the other at Cassville. The interval between 
them is widest opposite Kingston, where it is about seven miles by 
the farm roads. In the expectation that the Federal army would 
follow each road, it was arranged that Polk's corps should engage 
the column on the direct road when it should arrive opposite 

1 7-1 



258 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Kingston, Hood's, in position for that purpose, falling upon its 
left flank, during the deployment. Next morning, when our 
cavalry on that road reported the right Federal column near 
Kingston, General Hood was instructed to move to and follow 
northwardly a country road a mile east of that from Adairsville, 
to be in position to fall upon the flank of the Federal column when 
it should be engaged with Polk. An order announcing that we 
were about to give battle was read to each regiment, and heard 
with exultation. After going some three miles, General Hood 
marched back about two, and formed his corps facing to our right 
and rear. Being asked for an explanation, he replied that an 
aide-de-camp had told him that the Federal army was approaching 
on that road. Our whole army knew that to be impossible. It 
had been viewing the army in an opposite direction every day for 
two weeks. General Hood did not report his extraordinary dis- 
obedience — as he must have done had he believed the story upon 
which he professed to have acted. The time lost frustrated the 
design, for success depended on timing the attack properly." 

There has been much controversy over this charge of dis- 
obedience or faulty co-operation on Hood's part. In a diary kept 
by Lieutenant T. B. Mackall, aide-de-camp to Brigadier-General 
W. W. Mackall, chief of staff to General Johnston, the council of 
the generals at Adairsville on the night of May 17th is briefly 
described, and in that description occurs this sentence : "Hood 
has been anxious to get from this place (Adairsville) south of 
Etowah." 

Let the merits of the controversy be what they may, there can 
be no doubt but that Johnston meant to fight and was trying to 
exercise good generalship in the choice of a place. The following 
general order which, being read to each regiment, the general 
declares was "heard with exultation," shows that Johnston was 
not only ready to deliver battle, but had in him a vein of pious 
heroism that would have done credit to Oliver Cromwell : 

General Orders, Headquarters Army of Tennessee, 
No. — Cassville, Ga., May 19, 1864. 

Soldiers of the Army of Tennessee, you have displayed the 

highest quality of the soldier — firmness in combat, patience under 



Back To The Etozvah 259 

toil. By your courage and skill you have repulsed every assault 
of the enemy. By marches by day and by marches by night you 
have defeated every attempt upon your communications. Your 
communications are secured. You will now turn and march to 
meet his advancing columns. Fully confiding in the conduct of 
the officers, the courage of the soldiers, I lead you to battle. We 
may confidently trust that the Almighty Father will still reward 
the patriots' toil and bless the patriots' banners. Cheered by the 
success of our brothers in Virginia and beyond the Mississippi, 
our efforts will equal theirs. Strengthened by His support those 
efforts will be crowned with like glories. 

J. E. Johnston, General. 

On the evening of the 18th, Hooker's advance guard ran into 
Hood's pickets three miles out of Cassville, and McPherson noti- 
fied Sherman of his arrival at Woodland, where he met Garrard's 
cavalry. Schofield was to Hooker's rear, with orders to come up on 
his left. Thomas was straight behind Johnston, ready to hurl the 
Army of the Cumberland upon him. The entire Union army was 
thus within easy striking distance of Kingston, whither Johnston 
had gone, and anxiously awaited his next move, which must be 
battle or retreat across the Etowah. The Federal cavalry, in the 
meantime, was seeking to make destructive dashes upon the rail- 
road and the river, having orders to destroy bridges and boats 
wherever possible. General Sherman expected to attack King- 
ston on the 19th, "if not already abandoned." On the morning 
of that day he entered the town, Johnston having eluded him 
during the night and gone in the direction of Cassville. The 
armies being so close together, sometimes the opposing columns 
within musket shot of each other, encounters of a minor nature 
were frequent and the skirmishing incessant. Sherman lost no 
time in pressing after his wily antagonist. He had based his 
calculations on a battle at Cassville, some days before, and that he 
missed them was from that day to the end of his life, one of John- 
ston's keenest regrets. Among the orders Sherman gave his 
generals, immediately after discovering Johnston's retirement 
from Kingston, was the following to General Schofield, which will 
enable the reader to keep in mind an intelligent idea of the Federal 
commander's plans : 



260 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"General Thomas is passing through Kingston to the east, 
and will put the head of his column four miles east of the town, 
where a mill is represented on Two-Run Creek. Hooker will join 
him at that point. I want you to put the head of your column at 
Cassville Depot, your line facing east, and if you are in communi- 
cation with Stoneman put him toward Etowah bridge, at Pettit's 
Creek. Garrard will move east, south of the railroad, and will 
come up on your right. McPherson will halt here, on the Con- 
nasene Creek, for the present. Report to me your arrival, and 
also the distance to Pettit's Creek, to Cartersville, and Etowah 
bridge." 

Why Johnston did not give battle at Cassville, is another 
disputed question, fraught with no little personal rancor. It is 
plain, from his statement of the circumstances, that there was a 
lack of harmony, even then, between himself and Hood, or that 
their respective judgments were sadly at cross-purposes. He 
tells the reason thus : 

"As I rode along the lines while the troops were forming, 
General Shoup, chief of artillery, pointed to me a space of 150 or 
200 yards, which he thought might be enfiladed by artillery on a 
hill a half a mile beyond Hood's right and in front of the prolong- 
ation of our line, if the enemy should clear away the thick wood 
that covered it, and establish batteries. He was desired to point 
out to the officer who might command there some narrow ravines 
very near, in which his men could be sheltered from such artillery 
fire, and to remind him that while artillery was playing upon his 
position, no attack would be made upon it by infantry. The 
enemy got into position soon after our troops were formed and 
skirmished until dark, using their field pieces freely. During the 
evening, Lieutenant-Generals Polk and Hood, the latter being 
spokesman, asserted that a part of the line of each would be so 
enfiladed next morning by the Federal batteries established on the 
hill above mentioned, that they would be unable to hold their 
ground an hour ; and, therefore, urged me to abandon the position 
at once. They expressed the conviction that early the next morn- 
ing batteries would open upon them from a hill then thickly cov- 
ered with wood and out of range of brass field-pieces. The mat- 
ter was discussed, perhaps an hour,, in which time I became appre- 



Back To The Etowah 261 

hensive that as the commanders of two-thirds of the army thought 
the position untenable, the opinion would be adopted by their troops, 
which would make it so. Therefore I yielded. Lieutenant-General 
Hardee, whose ground was the least strong, was full of con- 
fidence. Mr. Davis says ("Rise and Fall," Vol. II, p. 5,333) that 
General Hood asserts, in his report and in a book, that the two 
corps were on the ground commanded and enfiladed by the 
enemy's batteries. On the contrary, they were on a hill, and the 
enemy were in a valley where their batteries were completely com- 
manded by ours." 

At 2 o'clock on the afternoon of the 19th, J. C. VanDuzer, 
the army telegrapher at Kingston, wired his chief at Washington : 
"Army moved at 7 a. m., and skirmished through a timbered 
country, arriving her at 1 1 a. m. Johnston retires slowly, leaving 
nothing, and hitting hard if crowded. As I write, Hooker's and 
Howard's guns are hammering at him, and the two armies are in 
plain sight of each other, two miles east. Davis's division. Four- 
teenth Corps, is in possession of Rome. On arriving here we 
connected to southward and got some words from Atlanta before 
current failed." 

With the Federal army pressing it close, the Confederate 
army quickly swung around to Cass Station and Cassville, and 
took up a strong position. The Confederate line was principally 
along a ridge running nearly north and south, covering Cassville 
and Cass Station road and facing westwardly. Polk's reinforce- 
ments from Alabama were now up, and, reasonably, Johnston felt 
himself stronger and better situated for a determined stand than 
he had been since the campaign opened. He had no sooner 
formed his line of battle than the artillery of the enemy began to 
play upon him, but only from Sherman's advance columns. In 
that quarter of the field there was lively skirmishing. Then 
occurred the unfortunate disagreement between Johnston and two 
of his lieutenant-generals over the ground chosen. While the 
leaders were haggling the soldiers in the trenches murmured 
against the waiting policy and clamored to be led against the 
enemy. It was decided to change the line — a hazardous under- 
taking while the opposing army was rapidly coming up, but a new 
line was marked out and the troops skillfully formed on it without 



262 Atlanta And Its Builders 

interference from the enemy. While this was being clone, how- 
ever, the guns were roaring and the battle threatened in earnest. 
That night it was the old story repeated. Johnston fell back 
across the Etowah, while Sherman was waiting in position, confi- 
dent of attacking him in the morning. The manner in which the 
Confederate army reached and crossed the river cannot be said to 
have been "in good order," as the strict application of the expres- 
sion goes. There was much confusion. Major Henry Hamp- 
ton, who kept a complete journal of the operations of Hardee's 
corps while acting as assistant adjutant-general, says of the retreat 
south of the Etowah : "Our forces and trains crossed without 
being molested by the enemy, who might have damaged us severe- 
ly by pressing us vigorously." In this connection, another extract 
from Aide-de-Camp Mackall's diary will be read with interest. 
He describes the situation in the afternoon and night of the 19th, 
at Cassville, as follows : 

"Late in the afternoon considerable skirmishing and artillery. 
Enemy's skirmishers occupied town. At one time confusion; 
wagons, artillery, and cavalry hasten back; noise, dust, and heat. 
Disorder checked ; wagons made to halt. Consternation of citi- 
zens ; many flee, leaving all ; some take away few effects, some 
remain between hostile fires. General M[ackall] and I remain 
several hours on roadside (Cassville and Cartersville road). 
Governor Harris brings lunch. General J[ohnston], about 5 
p. m. in afternoon, rides down to Hardee's, leaving General 
M[ackall] ; I remain. About 6 p. m. General M[ackall] sets out 
to find our camp; meets the general, and both go back to a field 
near road in rear of Polk, as skirmishing brisk. General J[ohn- 
ston] tells Governor Harris he will be ready for and happy to 
receive enemy next day. Wheeler comes up; cavalry falls back 
behind infantry. Dark ride to camp. By a muddy brook near 
General P [oik's] find supper ready and tents pitched. After sup- 
per General J[ohnston] walks over to General P[olk]. General 
M[ackall] and rest turn in. Soon General J[ohnston] sends 
word by courier to send him two of inspectors-general mounted ; 
then one of Polk's staff officers brings word that all the staff must 
report mounted ; I was directed to remain. General Mackall 
returned to camping-place, where most all staff waited until about 



Back To The Etozvah 263 

2 a. m., when they rode to Cartersville, passing trains and artillery 
parked in field; all hurried off without regard to order. Reach 
Cartersville before day, troops come in after day. General John- 
ston comes up — all hurried over bridges ; great confusion, caused 
by mixing trains and by trains which crossed first parking at 
river's edge and others winding around wrong roads ; about 2,000 
wagons crowded on bank. General Mackall and staff reach Car- 
tersville about 4 a. m.. General J[ohnston] later; confusion, hur- 
rying wagons and artillery across Etowah bridge. Supply train 
parked on plain on south side; two pontoon bridges, one wagon 
trestle bridge, one railroad bridge, wagons and artillery blocked 
up on road ; trains mixed. Dust and heat, country rough and 
hilly, little water near railroad, army in line on north side. 
Wagons move toward Allatoona on two roads. After great 
delay trains remove out of range. In afternoon headquarters 
established near Moore's house (Hardee's headquarters), near a 
crossing of railroad and lower Allatoona road, one mile and a half 
from Allatoona. Etowah Iron Works — most valuable machin- 
ery, teams, wagons, and negroes removed by G. W. Smith. 
Bridges burned in p. m., including railroad bridge by mistake. 
Troops jaded, artillery and cavalry particularly; Georgia troops 
dropped off; all in pretty good spirits up to falling back from 
Cassville. Change of line not understood but thought all right, 
but night retreat after issuing general order impaired confidence; 
great alarm in country around. Troops think no stand to be 
made north of Chattahoochee, where supply train is sent. Gov- 
ernor Brown has ordered all militia to assemble at Atlanta." 

General Garrard, of Sherman's cavalry, took possession of 
the covered bridge at Moss Bank, which was saved to the Fed- 
erals, as was also an excellent main bridge across the Etowah, near 
Kingston. The works at Saltpetre Cave were also taken by Gar- 
rard. Following are Sherman's dispatches from Kingston to 
Washington, announcing Johnston's passage of the Etowah and 
his (Sherman's) future plans ; the first under date of 19th : "We 
entered Kingston this morning without opposition, and have 
pushed a column east as far as Cassville, skirmishing the latter 
part of the day with Hardee's corps. The enemy has retreated 
south of the Etowah. To-morrow cars will move to this place, 



264 Atlanta And Its Builders 

and I will replenish our stores and get ready for the Chattahoo- 
chee. The railroad passes through a range of hills at Allatoona, 
which is doubtless being prepared for us ; but I have no intention 
of going through it. I apprehend more trouble from our long 
trains of wagons than from the fighting, though, of course, John- 
ston must fight hard for Atlanta." 

Kingston, Ga., May 20, 1864. 
Maj.-Gen. H. W. Halleck, Washington, D. C. : ' 

We have secured two bridges and an excellent ford across the 
Etowah. Our cars are now arriving with stores. I give two 
days' rest to replenish and fit up. On the 23d I will cross the 
Etowah and move on Dallas. This will turn the Allatoona Pass. 
If Johnston remains at Allatoona I shall move on Marietta; but, 
if he falls behind the Chattahoochee, I will make for Sandtown 
and Campbellton, but feign at the railroad crossing. General 
Davis's division occupies Rome, and finds a good deal of provisions 
and plunder, fine iron-works and machinery. I have ordered the 
Seventeenth Corps, General Blair, to march from Decatur to 
Rome. My share of militia should be sent at once to cover our 
lines of communication. Notify General Grant that I will hold all 
of Johnston's army too busy to send anything against him. 

W. T. Sherman, 
Major-General. 

To which Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton replied: 
"Your telegram of this date reporting your operations and future 
plans has just reached here. It is proper to state that the move- 
ments of your army since the opening of the campaign, the vigor 
and success of your operations, merit and receive the admiration 
of the President, of this department, and of all loyal people, and 
are already inspiring the hearts of rebel sympathizers with dis- 
may. For yourself, your officers, and troops, please accept re- 
newed thanks." 



CHAPTER XXII 

NEW HOPE CHURCH AND DALLAS 

Would Sherman come on to Allatoona ? That was the ques- 
tion that most interested General Johnston as he lay at that strong- 
hold, while his enemy gave his jaded troops three days' rest at 
Kingston. If so, the Confederate chieftain had no doubts as to 
the result. No more impregnable position was to be found be- 
tween Chattanooga and Atlanta, and the Confederates hoped that, 
lured on by the belief that they were afraid to fight, Sherman 
would forget his cunning and hurl his hosts against the granite 
walls fortified by his enemy. But it was not to be. Sherman 
declared he had personal knowledge of Allatoona, acquired in 
1844, and he gave the place a wide berth. Besides, he was in the 
flanking business, and not at all disposed to let Johnston choose 
his fighting ground. 

From the Etowah river, Johnston sent this dispatch to the 
president of the Confederacy : "In the last eight days the enemy 
has pressed us back to this place, thirty-two miles. We kept near 
him to prevent his detaching to Virginia, as you directed, and 
have repulsed every attack he has made. On the 12th at Resaca 
my arrangements for an attack were defeated by his crossing a 
column at Calhoun close to my communications, and yesterday, 
having ordered a general attack, while the officer charged with 
the lead was advancing he was deceived by a false report that a 
heavy column of the enemy had turned our right and was close 
upon him, and took a defensive position. When the mistake was 
discovered it was too late to resume the movement." 

There was consternation in Atlanta when it was known that 
Johnston had been pressed south of the Etowah. Everybody had 
expected a battle on the north bank of the river, and many were 
disposed to criticise the generalship of the Confederate command- 

265 



266 Atlanta And Its Builders 

er-in-chief, averring that his tactics would bring Sherman's army 
before the gates of Atlanta, as sure as fate. Many others, on the 
other hand, declared Johnston was wisely carrying out a Fabian 
policy — the wisest to adopt under the circumstances — and that his 
army was getting stronger and stronger every day, while that of 
his adversary was getting weaker and weaker. As an example 
of the extent of the misconceptions entertained on that score, the 
following note written General Johnston by one of his engineers, 
M. Lovell, from Atlanta, toward the last of May, is given : "In 
company with Wayne I finished the examination to-day of the 
river as far as a mile below Sandtown (fifteen miles from here). 
There are two pontoon bridges at Baker's Ferry, but I think the 
point a bad selection, as there are two commanding heights within 
short range on the right bank of the river. Green's Ferry, two 
miles above, is far preferable, as the command is all in our favor, 
the ridge retiring on their side, so that the bank of the river 'de- 
files' the bridge from their fire, while on our side the elevations 
are within short range. The two ferries are about equally distant 
from Villa Rica, but Green's is two miles nearer to Atlanta, and 
has already a small protecting battery ready for guns. Shall try 
to-morrow to arrange with Wayne and General Wright for the 
protection by artillery and infantry of the various points exam- 
ined, and which, in my judgment, it is necessary to protect. 
Wayne fully coincides with me. The head of the special service 
corps, an old acquaintance of mine, says that Sherman claims to 
have had 112,000 men at Chattanooga, but he only makes 105,000 
of all arms. He states that their reports of losses are 13,000 in 
all the fights and maneuvers about Dalton, and 5,800 at Resaca. 
He sets down 10,000 sick, and his men report at least that number 
of stragglers. Their losses about Dallas he has no report of. We 
know them to be not less than 8,000 or 10,000 men. If these fig- 
ures be true his army must be greatly diminished. Blair is com- 
ing along to relieve Sherman's garrisons and send them forward, 
as they were included in the 112,000." 

The defenses of Atlanta, made with considerable thorough- 
ness the preceding winter, were strengthened the nearer Johnston 
approached to his base, and more militia were being continually 
brought to the city from other parts of the state. Brigadier-Gen- 




t w 



a 



C A 

U 2 



268 Atlanta And Its Builders 

eral M. J. Wright, in command at Atlanta, was diligent in his 
efforts to make the city a fortress. On May 20th, the war author- 
ities at Richmond wired him : "If you should consider the 
services of the local defense troops at Columbus and Macon, Ga., 
necessary, you are authorized to order them to report to you. The 
local troops at Augusta must not be removed from that place ; they 
are necessary to the protection of the powder-works there." 

On the 2 1st of May, the following orders providing for addi- 
tional reinforcements to Johnston were issued by the Richmond 
war office : 

XX. The following infantry force now serving under Maj. 
Gen. D. H. Maury, will forthwith proceed to Army of Tennessee 
and report to General Joseph E. Johnston : Quarles' brigade, 
Thirty-seventh Mississippi Volunteers, Thirtieth Louisiana Vol- 
unteers. 

XXXIV. Colonel Anderson's cavalry regiment, now serv- 
ing in Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, will 
proceed by highway, via Atlanta, Ga., and report to General 
Joseph E. Johnston, commanding Army of Tennessee. 

About this time a controversy was raised between the war 
department and Lieutenant-General Polk over the number of re- 
inforcements he had taken to Johnston from Alabama. Polk's 
corps numbered 14,000 men, and its withdrawal from the west 
was vigorously objected to by Major-General S. D. Lee and 
Major-General N. B. Forrest, who were not left with sufficient 
force to defend the western territory of the Confederate States. 
The Selma and Blue Mountain railroad was left unprotected by 
the withdrawal of Jackson's cavalry. Half of Roddey's force was 
therefore brought from Mississippi to Talladega. Strong Fed- 
eral raiding parties were sweeping down upon Alabama, mean- 
time. 

While Sherman was resting around Kingston and Cassville, 
the cavalry of both armies continued very active, and there were 
daily skirmishes. Brigadier-General Ross, of the Texas cavalry, 
did some valuable scouting service along the banks of the Etowah. 
Forces were stationed at the south approaches of the remaining 
bridges and fords, with orders to defend or destroy the former. 



New Hope Church And Dallas 269 

On the 2 1 st of May, General Johnston sent the following 
message to President Davis: "My dispatch of yesterday con- 
tained an error in statement. It should have read thus : In the 
last six days the enemy has pressed us back to this point, thirty- 
two miles. My arrangements were for an attack on the 15th, not 
on the 13th. 

"Your dispatch of 18th was received yesterday. I know that 
my dispatch must of necessity create the feeling you express. I 
have earnestly sought an opportunity to strike the enemy. The 
direction of the railroad to this point has enabled him to press me 
back by steadily moving to the left and by fortifying the moment 
he halted. He has made an assault upon his superior forces too 
hazardous, and in making this retrograde march we have [not] 
lost much by straggling or desertion. The Fifty-seventh Georgia 
has arrived and all General Polk's troops are up." 

While Sherman was inactive, he had reinforcements hurried 
down from Chattanooga to guard his long line of communica- 
tions, many being raw recruits and militia. Until he could be re- 
lieved of guard duty, General Davis was directed to hold his divi- 
sion at Rome. On the 21st Sherman's cars were running to the 
Cassville depot. The saltpetre works were destroyed by his 
orders. Major-General F. P. Blair was ordered to come to Rome 
from Huntsville, Ala., with 10,000 infantry and artillery. The 
sick and wounded were sent to the rear by rail, as well as all 
"worthless men and idlers." The whole army was ordered to be 
ready to march by May 23d. stripped for battle, but equipped and 
provided for twenty days' subsistence, independent of the railroad. 
General Logan's pioneer corps was sent to Gillem's bridge to ar- 
range for a crossing. On the evening of the 21st, General Sher- 
man wired General Halleck : "Weather very hot and roads dusty. 
We, nevertheless, by morning, will have all our wagons loaded 
and be ready for a twenty days' expedition. I will leave a good 
brigade at Rome — a strong, good point; about 1,000 men to cover 
this point, but will keep no stores here to tempt an enemy until I 
have placed my army about Marietta, when I will cause the rail- 
road to be repaired up to that point. I regard Resaca as the 
stronghold of my line of operations till I reach the Chattahoochee. 
I have ordered the Seventeenth Corps to march from Decatur to 



270 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Rome, and to this point, to act in reserve until I call it forward. 
Returned veterans and regiments have more than replaced all 
losses and detachments, and we move to-morrow with full 80,000 
fighting men. General McPherson crosses the Etowah, at the 
mouth of Connasene Creek, on a bridge, and moves for Dallas, via 
Van Wert. General Thomas crosses by a bridge, four miles 
southeast of Kingston, and moves for Dallas, via Euharlee and 
Huntsville. General Schofield crosses near Etowah Cliffs, on 
pontoons, and takes position on Thomas's left. I allow three days 
to have the army grouped about Dallas, whence I can strike 
Marietta, or the Chattahoochee, according to developments. You 
may not hear from us in some days, but be assured we are not idle 
or thoughtless." 

There is no doubt but that Atlanta was Sherman's objective, 
and that he was not going out of his way to hunt Johnston's army. 
He had determined to bear to the west in the vicinity of Dallas. 
His telegrapher wired his chief at Washington, on the 22d : 
"General Sherman's army will commence at daylight to-morrow 
movement against Atlanta, crossing Etowah in same order here- 
tofore observed, General McPherson the right, General Thomas in 
center, and Schofield the left. All will be south of the Etowah by 
to-morrow night with twenty days' subsistence, which can be 
made, by foraging, to last fifty or sixty. Route not announced, 
and is not, I think, determined, but will be decided by disposition 
Johnston makes of his forces after we cross. Railroad will not 
be opened farther at present, and my orders are to await at King- 
ston orders from General Sherman or General Thomas, and be 
ready to follow when railroad or other route is secured. It is a 
race for Atlanta, and General Sherman hopes to win it or force 
battle this side. Army in splendid condition and spirits." 

Following are Sherman's marching orders : 

Special Field Orders, Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of Miss., 

No. 11. /// the Field, Kingston, Ga., May 22, 1864. 

I. General McPherson will cause the Seventeenth Army 

Corps, Major-General Blair commanding, to march from Decatur 

to Rome and Kingston, and will garrison Rome with a force of 

about 2.000 men until further orders. General Thomas will gar- 



New Hope Church And Dallas 271 

rison Kingston with a small force, say 1,000 men, well covered 
by earth-works or stone buildings. Resaca will be held strong, 
and will be the depot of supplies until further notice. Such stores 
and provisions will be kept forward at Kingston and Rome as 
can be moved by the wagons of the troops present and no more. 

II. The several armies will move punctually to-morrow 
morning, provided, as hertofore ordered, by separate roads, aim- 
ing to reach the positions hereinafter assigned them in the course 
of the third day, and in the meantime each wing communicating 
freely with the center by cross-roads. 

The Army of the Cumberland will move on Dallas by Eu- 
harlee and Stilesborough, the division of General Jeff. C. Davis, 
now at Rome, marching direct for Dallas by Van Wert. 

The Army of the Ohio will move for position on the left, via 
Richland Creek and Burnt Hickory, to a position on the right at 
or near the head of Pumpkin Vine Creek, south of Dallas. 

III. Marietta is the objective point, and the enemy is sup- 
posed to be in force at Allatoona, but with cavalry all along the 
line of the Etowah. Henceforth great caution must be exercised 
to cover and protect trains. 

By order of Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, 
Aide-de-Camp. 

Before leaving the north side of the river, expeditions from 
Schofield's corps destroyed the Confederate flour mills and the 
Etowah iron works. At Kingston, General Sherman received a 
very handsome horse from the quartermaster at Nashville, which 
he acknowledged in the following characteristic note : "Horse 
arrived all safe and sound. He looks well, and I will ride him 
to-morrow across the Etowah, which is the Rubicon of Georgia. 
We are now all in motion like a vast hive of bees, and expect to 
swarm along the Chattahoochee in five days." 

At the same time Sherman acknowledged to Quartermaster- 
General Meigs, at Washington, that no army in the world was 
better provisioned and provided for in the way of creature com- 
forts than his. In striking contrast to this satisfactory condition 



272 Atlanta And Its Builders 

was the condition of a large part of Johnston's army. A large 
per cent, of the men were ragged, and several thousand were ac- 
tually barefoot. At least, some of the officers so reported. John- 
ston's quartermasters' s stores were scant, and frequently his men 
marched on empty stomachs. They depended to a great ex- 
tent on local supplies. Some of his deserters, when captured, 
claimed they had left the army from sheer hunger. In both 
armies the orders against private "foraging" were very strict. 

Bright and early on the 24th, Sherman began the second 
stage of his march to Atlanta, and the vanguard of the Confeder- 
ate army was not an hour behind in starting for the same destina- 
tion, as the following orders to Hardee's corps will show : 

Orders.] Headquarters Hardee's Corps, 

May 2$, 1864 — 10 p. in. 

The command will move to-morrow, as follows : Bate's divi- 
sion at 2 a. m. to the church on the Dallas road. From that point 
General Bate will throw out one brigade one mile in advance on 
the Dallas road, and two brigades one mile on the Burnt Hickory 
road. He will remain in observation at this position until the 
whole column has passed, when he will bring up the rear. Cle- 
burne's division will move at 3 a. m., to the church and thence 
on the Atlanta road. Walker's division will move at 4 a. m. and 
follow Cleburne. Cheatham's division will move at 5 a. m. and 
follow Walker. 

Hood's and Polk's corps went west by different routes, it be- 
ing intended to effect a concentration at New Hope Church, on the 
Dallas road. Before he started, Hood had the following address 
read for the inspiration of his command, company by company : 

"The lieutenant-general commanding desires to say to the 
officers and soldiers of his command that in the coming battle their 
country expects of them victory. This corps must remember the 
glorious successes of our arms beyond the Mississippi ; they must 
think of their comrades in Virginia, battling against overwhelm- 
ing odds, and the triumphs which have crowned their efforts, and 
determine to be outstripped by none in such a course. 

"So far, wherever you have engaged the enemy, you have 
repulsed him ; our general has pride in the troops he has the honor 



New Hope Church And Dallas 273 

of commanding, and expects them to be victorious. Death is far 
preferable to defeat." 

From Richmond orders came to the First Georgia Regiment, 
Colonel Olmsted, to proceed with the greatest possible expedition 
by railroad, via Atlanta, and report to General Johnston. On the 
25th, Johnston wired President Davis : "The enemy crossed the 
Etowah near Stilesborough. We moved in this direction to in- 
tercept him and oppose his farther progress. Our cavalry have 
not ascertained definitely the route of his main body. The only 
infantry prisoner taken to-day shows Hooker opposite our right. 
Wheeler beat a brigade of cavalry at Cass Station yesterday. Cap- 
tured 250 loaded wagons, brought off 80, and burned the rest. 
He brought in 158 prisoners." 

Events developed with remarkable rapidity after the armies 
began to move. Late on the afternoon of the 25th, Hooker's 
whole corps was engaged with Flood's at New Hope Church, four 
miles east of Dallas. Hood formed his line with Hindman on the 
left, Stewart in the center, and Stevenson on the right. Stewart, 
who had suffered so severely at Resaca as the result of the tardy 
delivery of his superior's orders, bore the brunt of Hooker's as- 
sault the first day at New Hope Church. Polk's and Hardee's 
corps were stationed between Hood and the Atlanta road, which 
Hardee's left covered. As soon as Hood was found to be in force 
in Hooker's front, orders were hurried to Generals Butterfield 
and Williams to move their divisions up to Geary's support, which 
was done promptly, Williams massing on the right, and Butter- 
field on the left and rear. Each Federal division was quickly 
formed for attack in columns by brigades, Williams leading, But- 
terfield next, and Geary as a reserve. 

The face of nature at New Hope Church belied the name of 
the locality. It was a forbidding region, wooded to the point of 
almost being a wilderness, the roads mere trails, and during the 
rainy season, then at hand, all but impassable. There never was 
stickier clay than that the struggling armies encountered around 
New Hope Church, and for days they literally wallowed in it. 
The ground was soaking wet with long-continued rains, and the 
air damp and mouldy smelling, as is peculiar to land that never 
feels the warmth of the sun. All the Federal commanders com- 



274 Atlanta And Its Builders 

ment on the gloomy environment of New Hope Church. It 
struck a chill to stout hearts, suggesting what it proved to be — a 
charnel. Sherman says : "The country was almost in a state of 
nature — with a few or no roads, nothing that a European could 
understand ; yet the bullet killed its victim there as surely as at 
Sevastopol.'' While the bloody charges were being made after 
nightfall on the 25th, in the depths of that dismal forest, a terrific 
thunder storm added the terror of nature's artillery to that of 
man's. Hooker's repeated assaults were futile, but they were 
none the less desperate. The fatalities were many, especially in 
his leading division. 

An investigator of the documentary evidence of the civil war, 
from the view-point of both sides, can but be struck by the con- 
flicting testimony of antagonistic eye-witnesses, and their evident 
disposition to make things appear the best possible for their re- 
spective sides. This is noticeable in the reports of the pettiest 
officer and highest commander. No defeat is ever overwhelming, 
from the standpoint of the vanquished, and the best is invariably 
made of a situation, whatever the blunders committed. For this 
reason it is surprising and far from satisfactory to the historian, 
bent on an impartial presentation of facts, to carefully follow the 
reports of a sanguinary conflict, through a hundred or more tech- 
nical pages, and at the conclusion of his labor be at a loss to know 
which side really got the better of it. In the first day's conflict at 
New Hope Church, the preponderance of evidence is that Hooker 
met with a decided repulse, and yet we find his division and 
brigade commanders, in some instances, narrating with spirited 
adjectives how the enemy was driven back with slaughter and the 
ground held right up to the muzzle of his guns. General John- 
ston takes Sherman to task for not even referring to the opening 
engagements at New Hope Church in his "Memoirs." Of Hook- 
er's unsuccessful assault that evening, the Confederate command- 
er-in-chief says : "A little before 6 o'clock in the afternoon, Stew- 
art's division in front of New Hope Church, was fiercely attacked 
by Hooker's corps, and the action continued two hours without 
lull or pause, when the assailants fell back. The canister shot 
of the sixteen Confederate field-pieces and the musketry of five 
thousand infantry at short ransre, must have inflicted heavy loss 



New Hope Church And Dallas 275 

upon General Hooker's corps, as is proved by the name 'Hell 
Hole/ which, General Sherman says, was given the place by the 
Federal soldiers." 

The fighting in front of Stewart was of the deadliest char- 
acter. The Federal general, Howard, speaking of the affair, says : 
"On that terrible night the nearest house to the field was filled 
with the wounded. Torch lights and candles lighted up dimly 
the incoming stretchers and the surgeons' tables and instruments. 
The very woods seemed to moan and groan with the voices of 
sufferers not yet brought in. Again and again. Hooker's brave 
men went forward through the forest, only to run upon log bar- 
ricades thoroughly manned and protected by well-posted artil- 
lery." Brigadier-General Stewart, who withstood Hooker's re- 
peated charges, says in his report : "On Wednesday evening. 
May 25, being in line of battle near New Hope Church — Baker's 
brigade on the right, Clayton's in the center, Stovall's on the left, 
Gibson's in reserve, except Austin's battalion, and the Sixteenth 
[Louisiana], under Colonel Lewis, who were in front as skirmish- 
ers — the enemy, after firing a few shells, advanced and attacked 
along my entire front. Baker's and Clayton's men had piled up a 
few logs, Stovall's Georgians were without any defense. The en- 
tire line received the attack with great steadiness and firmness, 
every man standing at his post. The fight began toward 5 o'clock 
and continued with great fury until after night. The enemy were 
repulsed at all points, and it is believed with heavy loss. The force 
opposed to us was reported by prisoners taken to be Hooker's 
corps, of three divisions, and their loss was stated at from 3,000 to 
5,000. 

''Eldridge's battalion of artillery, consisting of Stanford's, 
Oliver's, and Fenner's batteries, was admirably posted, w r ell 
served, and did great execution. They had 43 men and 44 horses 
killed and wounded. Our position was such that the enemy's fire, 
which was very heavy, passed over the line to a great extent, 
which accounts for the fact that while so heavy a punishment was 
inflicted on the enemy, our own loss, between 300 and 400, was 
not greater. The calm determination of the men during this en- 
gagement of two and a half or three hours was beyond all praise. 
The enemy's advance seemed to be in three lines of division front 



276 Atlanta And Its Builders 

without artillery. No more persistent attack or determined re- 
sistance has anywhere been made. Not being allowed to advance 
and charge the enemy, we did not get possession of the ground 
occupied by the enemy, who intrenched, and during the two fol- 
lowing days kept up a severe and galling skirmish fire, from which 
we suffered considerably, especially losing a number of valuable 
officers.'' 

Brigadier-General Clayton, who held part of the line with 
Stewart, says : "A little before 5 p. m. my skirmish line was 
driven in, and the enemy soon made his appearance in force, en- 
gaging my whole line. Three lines of battle of the enemy came 
forward successively and in turn were successively repulsed. Men 
could not have fought better or exhibited more cool and resolute 
courage. Not a man except the wounded left his position. The 
engagement lasted uninterruptedly until night, or more than two 
hours, and when the enemy finally withdrew many of my men had 
their last cartridges in their guns.'' 

Brigadier-General Williams, commanding the Federal ad- 
vance columns, says in his report : "Receiving orders from the 
corps commander to put my division in order of attack, I de- 
ployed the division in three lines of brigade front. Two regi- 
ments were sent forward as skirmishers. The division, without 
sufficient halt to recover breath, moved promptly in advance for a 
mile and a half, driving the enemy before us and forcing back his 
strong skirmish line and heavy reserves at double-quick. It was 
quite dark when the column reached the foot of the slopes upon 
which the enemy were strongly entrenched and across which he 
threw shot, shell and canister in murderous volleys. During the 
advance the Second (Ruger's) Brigade passed lines with and 
relieved the Third (Robinson's), which was leading, and Knipe's 
(First) brigade in turn relieved a portion of Ruger's brigade, 
which had nearly exhausted its ammunition. The division 
forced its way close up to the enemy's works, but darkness, rend- 
ered doubly dark by dense clouds of pouring rain, put a stop to 
further efforts. Butterfield's and Geary's divisions relieved 
most of my division during the night, and in the morning it was 
placed in reserve within a few hundred yards of the enemy's 
works. The major-general commanding the corps followed the 



New Hope Church And Dallas 277 

advance brigade of my division in this attack, and I feel confident 
he will bear testimony to the steadiness and good order, perse- 
verance, and spirit with which it went forward until darkness put 
an end to the conflict. The loss of the division in this attack was 
102 killed, 639 wounded, 4 missing; total, 745." 

At 9 o'clock that night, Sherman, in a message to McPher- 
son, who had gone beyond Dallas, said : "Your position was ex- 
actly right on the theory that Thomas was to move straight on 
Dallas; but the enemy has taken position at a point on the road 
toward Marietta, three miles out from the town, and he burned 
the bridge leading to Dallas, but we saved one about one mile and 
a half lower clown on a road that crosses over to the point named. 
I will make a sketch with this. We attacked him about 4 130 p. 
m., and had a pretty hard fight with two of Hooker's divisions. 
To-morrow early will renew the fight if the enemy has not disap- 
peared in the night. Howard is now moving up on Hooker's left, 
and Schofield is near enough to extend still more to the left. I 
wish you to move into Dallas and then along the Marietta road 
till you hit the left flank. Use your artillery freely after you 
have developed his position. We are in dense woods, and see 
but little, but infer the enemy is behind hastily-constructed log 
barriers. I don't believe there is anything more than Hood's 
corps, but still Johnston may have his whole army, and we should 
act on that hypothesis. Try and communicate with me early. 
I will be near the battle-field along the road we are traveling. If 
Davis comes to Dallas use him as a reserve or send him to 
Palmer, who is at the bridge over Pumpkin Vine in rear of our 
position." 

During the early morning hours of the 26th, the armies 
were getting into position around New Hope Church, prepara- 
tory to a decisive struggle. Schofield was badly injured by a fall 
from his horse, while trying to work his way through the black 
forest to Sherman's bivouac, and during the remainder of the 
battle Cox was in command of the Army of the Ohio. Fighting 
was not renewed on the 26th, and there was little skirmishing, 
the opposing armies being too busy intrenching. The Federals, 
with force enough for lines of extraordinary length, sought to 
reach the railroad. The Confederates, with inferior force and 



278 Atlanta And Its Builders 

insufficient intrenching tools, were not able to keep abreast of the 
enemy's work, endangering their lines from a possible flank 
movement in the direction of the railroad. Says Howard : "Now 
the enemy kept straightening his trench-barricades, which were 
so covered with thickets that at first we could scarcely detect 
them. As he did, so did we. No regiment was long in front of 
Johnston's army without having virtually as good a breastwork 
as an engineer could plan. There was a ditch before the embank- 
ment and a strong log revetment behind it, and a heavy 'top-log' 
to shelter the heads of the men. I have known a regiment to 
shelter itself completely against musketry and artillery with axes 
and shovels, in less than an hour after it reached its position." 

On the morning of the 27th it was evident that Sherman in- 
tended to pass his armies to the left. Skirmishing became heavy 
in the forenoon, and as the day advanced it was apparent that a 
bloody collision was at hand. It came at half-past 5 o'clock. Of 
the battle that ensued, General Johnston says : "The Fourth 
Corps (Howard) and division of the Fourteenth (Palmer) at- 
tempted to turn our right, but the movement, after being impeded 
by the cavalry, was met by two regiments of our right division 
(Cleburne's), and the two brigades of his second line brought up 
on the right of the first. The Federal formation was so deep 
that its front did not equal that of our two brigades ; consequently 
those troops were greatly exposed to our musketry — all but the 
leading troops on a hillside facing us. They advanced until their 
first line was within25or 30 paces of ours, and fell back only after 
at least 700 men had fallen dead in their places. When the lead- 
ing Federal troops paused in their advance, a color-bearer came 
on and planted his colors eight or ten feet in front of his regi- 
ment, but was killed in the act. A soldier who sprang forward 
to hold up or bear off the colors was shot dead as he seized the 
staff. Two others who followed successively fell like him, but 
the fourth bore back the noble emblem. Soon after nightfall the 
Confederates captured about 200 prisoners in the hollow before 
them." 

The story of Howard's and Palmer's stubborn assault on 
him that afternoon is thrillingly told by Cleburne, as follows: 
"About 4 p. m., hearing that the enemy's infantry in line of bat- 



New Hope Church And Dallas 279 

tie were pressing- the cavalry on my right (they had already 
driven in my skirmishers), I placed Gran bury an Govan's right. 
He had but just gotton into position, and a dismounted cavalry 
force, in line behind a few disconnected heaps of stones loosely 
piled together, had passed behind him, when the enemy advanced. 
He showed himself first, having driven back my skirmishers, in 
the edge of an open field in front of Govan, about 400 yards 
across, where he halted and opened fire. From the point on the 
ridge where Govan's right and Granbury's left met, there made off 
a spur, which, at about 100 yards from it, turned sharply to the 
northeast, running then in a direction almost parallel with it and 
maintaining about an equal elevation. Between this spur and 
the parent ridge, beginning in front of Granbury's left, was a 
deep ravine, the side of which next to Granbury was very steep, 
with occasional benches of rock up to a line within thirty or forty 
yards of Granbury's men, where it flattened into a natural glacis. 
This glacis was well covered with well grown trees and in most 
places with thick undergrowth. Here was the brunt of the bat- 
tle, the enemy advancing along this front in numerous and con- 
stantly re-enforced lines. His men displayed a courage worthy 
of an honorable cause, pressing in steady throngs within a few 
paces of our men, frequently exclaiming, 'Ah ! damn you, we have 
caught you without your logs now.' Granbury's men, needing 
no logs, were awaiting them, and throughout awaited them with 
calm determination, and as they appeared upon the slope slaught- 
ered them with deliberate aim. The piles of dead on this front, 
pronounced by the officers in this army who have seen most serv- 
ice to be greater than they had ever seen before, were a silent but 
sufficient eulogy upon Granbury and his noble Texans. In the 
great execution here done upon the enemy, Govan with his two 
right regiments, disdaining the enemy in his own front, who were 
somewhat removed, and Key with two pieces of artillery ran by 
hand upon my order to a convenient breach made in our breast- 
works, materially aided Granbury by a right-oblique fire which 
enfiladed the masses in his front. In front of a prolongation of 
Granbury's line and abutting upon his right was a field about 300 
yards square. The enemy, driving back some cavalry, at this 
point advanced completely across the field and passed some forty 



280 Atlanta And Its Builders 

or fifty yards in its rear. Here, however, they were confronted 
by the Eighth and Nineteenth Arkansas (consolidated), com- 
manded by Colonel Baucnm, hastily sent by Govan upon Gran- 
bury's request and representation of the exigency. In a sweep- 
ing charge Baucum drove the enemy from the ridge in his front, 
and with irresistible impetuosity forced him across the field and 
back into the woods, from which he had at first advanced. Here 
he fixed himself and kept up a heavy fire, aided by a deadly en- 
filade from the bottom of the ravine in front of Granbury. When 
Baucum was about to charge, Lowrey, of my division, who had 
been hastened up from his distant position upward of a mile and 
a half from my right as finally established, came into line, throw- 
ing his regiments in successively, as they unmasked themselves 
by their flank march. His arrival was most opportune, as the 
enemy was beginning to pour around Baucum's right. Colonel 
Adams, with the Thirty-third Alabama, which was the first of 
Lowrey's regiments to form into line, took position on Baucum's 
right and advanced with him, his seven left companies being in 
the field with Baucum, and his other four in the woods to the 
right. Baucum and Adams, finding themselves suffering from 
the enemy's direct and oblique fire, withdrew, passing 
over the open space of the field behind them. The 
right companies of Adams, which were in the woods, 
retired to a spur which rises from the easterly edge 
of the field about 200 yards from its southerly edge, 
where Baucum's and Adams's left companies rested. Here they 
halted. Captain Dodson, with fine judgment perceiving the im- 
portance of the position — it would have given the enemy an en- 
filading fire upon Granbury, which would have dislodged him — ■ 
and making his company the basis of alignment for the remainder 
of Lowrey's, now coming into position. This retrograde move- 
ment across the field was not attended with loss as might have 
been expected, the enemy not advancing as it was made. It was 
mistaken, however, for a repulse, and some of my staff officers 
hearing that my line had broken hastened forward Ouarles's brig- 
ade, of Stewart's division, just then providentially sent up by 
General Hood to re-establish it. Lowrey, being under the same 
impression, detached his two right regiments (which had not 




m 



282 Atlanta And Its Builders 

been engaged) under Colonels Tison and Hardcastle, and had 
them quickly formed in support of Baucum and Adams. The 
error, however, was soon discovered, and my line being ascer- 
tain to remain in its integrity, Quarles's brigade was conducted 
to the rear of Lowrey, and formed as a second line. The Fourth 
Louisiana, Colonel Hunter, finding itself opposite an interval be- 
tween the two regiments of Lowrey's line (caused by Baucum's 
resting closer upon Granbury on his return from the advance, 
than he had done at first), under the immediate superintendence of 
General Ouarles, advanced with great spirit into the field, halted, 
and delivered a very effective fire upon the enemy in his front. 
After some minutes Ouarles withdrew this regiment and formed 
it behind the field, where they continued their fire across it. Gen- 
eral Ouarles and his brigade have my thanks. During these 
movements the battle continued to rage on Granbury's front, and 
was met with unflagging spirit. About the time of Quarles get- 
ting into position night came on, when the combat lulled. For 
some hours afterward a desultory dropping fire, with short, vehe- 
ment bursts of musketry, continued, the enemy lying in great 
numbers immediately in front of portions of my line, and so near 
it that their footsteps could be distinctly heard. About 10 p. m. 
I ordered Granbury and Lowrey to push forward skirmishers and 
scouts to learn the state of things in their respective fronts. Gran- 
burv, finding it impossible to advance his skirmishers until he 
had cleared his front of the enemy lying up against it, with my 
consent, charged with his whole line, Walthall, with his brigade, 
from Hindman's division, whom I sent to his support, taking his 
place in the line as he stepped out of it. The Texans, their bay- 
onets fixed, plunged into the darkness with a terrific yell, and 
with one bound were upon the enemy, but they met with no re- 
sistance. Surprised and panic-stricken, many fled, escaping in 
the darkness ; others surrendered and were brought into our lines. 
It needed but the brilliancy of this night attack to add lustre to 
the achievements of Granbury and his brigade in the afternoon. 
I am deeply indebted to them both. My thanks are also due to 
General Lowrey for the coolness and skill which he exhibited in 
forming his line. His successive formation was the precise 
answer to the enemy's movement in extending his left to turn our 



New Hope Church And Dallas 283 

right. Time was of the essence of things, and his movement 
was the quickest. His line was formed under heavy fire, on 
ground unknown to him and of the most difficult character, and 
the stern firmness with which he and his men and Baucum's regi- 
ment drove off" the enemy and resisted his renewed attacks with- 
out doubt saved the right of the army, as Granbury had already 
done before I had 85 killed, 363 wounded, car- 
rying into the engagement 4,683 muskets. The enemy's loss 
was very heavy. The lowest estimate which can be made of his 
dead is 500. We captured 160 prisoners, exclusive of 72 of his 
wounded carried to my field hospital. He could not have lost in 
all less than 3,000 killed and wounded. I took upward of 1,200 
small-arms." 

This battle was fought at a place known as the "Pickett Set- 
tlement," about two miles northeast of New Hope Church. Gen- 
eral Howard, who led the Federal assaulting columns, thus de- 
scribes the conflict : "The advance commenced at 11 a. m. and in 
an easterly direction. The columns moved forward with very 
little interruption for nearly a mile. I thought we must have 
reached the enemy's flank, whereupon General Wood wheeled his 
command toward the right till he was faced nearly south. A 
brigade of the Twenty-third Corps, General McLean's, deployed 
so as to form a junction with General Wood on his right. The 
latter pressed forward his skirmishers till a large open field was 
reached. Here it was discovered that the enemy's works were 
still in our front. Immediately the skirmishers were withdrawn 
and the column moved rapidly by the left flank at least another 
mile to the eastward. The ground was carefully reconnoitered 
by General Wood and myself. We still found a line of works to 
our right, but they did not seem to cover General Wood's front, 
and they were new, the enemy still working hard upon them. I 
gave a little time for the troops of Wood's division to rest, and 
for Johnson to form a little retired on his (Wood's) left. From 
the position now occupied by the troops woods more or less open 
extended up to the enemy's apparent flank. A road skirted the 
woods opposite our right, running perpendicular to the enemy's 
lines. Another road ran obliquely toward the left and in rear of 
Johnson's position. McLean's brigade was sent to a place in 



284 Atlanta And Its Builders 

full view of the enemy's works, a little to the right of the point 
of attack, with a view to attract the enemy's attention and draw 
his fire. As soon as everything was in readiness, at about 5 p. 
m., General Wood commenced his advance, Hazen's brigade lead- 
ing. The entire column marched briskly forward, driving in the 
enemy's skirmishers and vigorously assaulting his main line. 
Complaint came immediately that the supporting column under 
General Johnson was not far enough advanced. General John- 
son was directed to push forward a brigade to Hazen's left. He 
answered that he was doing so, and that it would soon be in po- 
sition. General Wood became very heavily engaged, so as to 
necessitate moving forward his supporting lines, and he found 
strong works to his front, except, perhaps, opposite his two left 
regiments. Colonel Scribner, who commanded General John- 
son's advance brigade, finding his own left fired into from across 
Pickett's Mills creek, halted and threw some troops across it for 
his own protection. This delay occurring at precisely the same 
time with Wood's assault was unfortunate, for it enabled the 
enemy with his reserves to force back the left of General Wood's 
line and bring an enfilading and reverse fire upon his troops. 
Again by some mistake of orders, McLean's troops did not show 
themselves to the enemy, nor open any fire to attract his attention 
on General Wood's right, so that the enemy was able to pour a 
cross-fire of artillery and musketry into his right flank. Under 
these circumstances it soon became evident that the assault had 
failed, and the troops must be withdrawn with care in order to 
bring off our wounded, and to prevent a successful sally of the 
enemy from his works. General Johnson formed his troops in 
rear of and to the left of the entire position, while General 
Wood carefully withdrew his division and formed on a ridge 
farther to the right. General McLean having been requested 
to push farther to the right in order to make connection with the 
rest of the army, disregarded the request and moved off at once 
by the road, leaving these two divisions isolated. He (McLean) 
alleged in excuse that his men were entirely without rations. Our 
losses were very heavy, being upward of 1,400 killed, wounded, 
and missing in General Wood's division alone. Though the as- 
sault was repulsed, yet a position was secured near Pickett's 



New Hope Church And Dallas 285 

Mills of the greatest importance to the subsequent movements of 
the army, and it has been subsequently ascertained that the enemy 
suffered immensely in the action, and regarded it as the severest 
attack made during this eventful campaign. Johnson and Wood 
made strong entrenchments during the night. General Johnson 
received quite a severe wound from a shell and was obliged to 
leave his command the next morning. During this movement 
and fighting on the left, Stanley and Newton made strong 
demonstrations in their respective fronts. At 4 p. m. the enemy 
tried their lines, from which he was driven back with a loss." 

On the morning of the 28th General Johnston informed 
Richmond of his situation, as follows : "We are still confronting 
the enemy here. On the afternoon of the 25th Major-General 
Stewart was attacked by Hooker's corps, which he repulsed with 
considerable loss, and yesterday afternoon Howard's corps at- 
tacked Major-General Cleburne's position, and was defeated with 
slaughter. Both these affairs terminated at the close of the day. 
The Federal army has been approaching the railroad by entrench- 
ments for the last three days at the rate of about a mile a day." 

At the same time Sherman wired Washington : "The enemy 
discovered my move to turn Allatoona, and moved to meet us 
here. Our columns met about one mile east of Pumpkin Vine 
Creek, and we pushed them back about three miles to the point 
where the roads fork to Allatoona and Marietta. Here Johnston 
has chosen a strong line, and made hasty but strong parapets of 
timber and earth, and has thus far stopped us. My right is Dallas, 
center about three miles north, and I am gradually working 
round by the left to approach the railroad anywhere in front of 
Acworth. Country very densely wooded and broken. No roads 
of any consequence. We have had many sharp, severe encount- 
ers, but nothing decisive. Both sides duly cautious in the ob- 
scurity of the ambushed ground." 

Major-General McPherson, who was confronting Lieuten- 
ant-General Hardee at Dallas, was ordered by Sherman to work 
his line to conform to the general movement to the left and con- 
nect with Hooker. He was too far away, the line between him 
and the rest of the army being attenuated and liable to disaster. 
To carry out this order involved moving his whole corps under 



286 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Hardee's guns. In giving the order Sherman remarked : "If the 
enemy comes out of his works, I understand you can whip him 
easily." The enemy did come out of his works. Shortly before 
5 o'clock on the afternoon of the 28th, Hardee, believing that 
McPherson intended to abandon his position, determined to pre- 
vent the movement and moved his whole corps forward to the 
assault, which was repulsed with much loss on the Confederate 
side. Hardee's action, however, resulted in the postponement of 
McPherson's intended movement. The Confederate assault was 
a terrific one, being mainly directed against the corps of Logan 
and Dodge. It was thus described in Logan's report : 

"The 28th opened with rapid skirmishing, which continued 
until 3.30 o'clock in the afternoon, when the enemy (afterward 
ascertained to be Hardee's entire command, estimated by prison- 
ers to be 25,000) made determined assaults in columns of regi- 
ments, on the most assailable positions along our entire front. 
The first assault was on Harrow, and was made directly dowm 
the line of the Villa Rica road, the weakest point in our whole 
position. The road there runs directly up the backbone of a 
ridge, which curved continuously to our right and constantly in- 
creased in height. It had been considered impracticable to carry 
our line far enough forward across this ridge to overcome this 
objectionable point, without weakening it too much elsewhere in 
thus adding to its length. The enemy at this point approached 
within 150 yards, without even having been seen or exposed to 
our fire. His assault was made in columns of regiments, and 
with the utmost dash and confidence. Three guns of the First 
Iowa battery which had been run out on the skirmish line, were 
temporarily surrounded by the enemy. They cannot be said, 
however, to have been in his possession, as the few who attempted 
to lay hands on them were shot down. The fighting at this point 
was close and deadlv. As line upon line of the enemy debouched 
upon the open plateau, within eighty yards of our works, they 
were met by a front and flank fire from brave men, 
who stood unflinchingly to their guns, under the orders 
of their efficient officers. Colonel Walcutt, commanding 
the brigade engaged, stood on the parapet, amid the 
storm of bullets, ruling the fight. Line after line was 



New Hope Church And Dallas 287 

sent back broken to their works, and in half an hour the 
assault was. over, their dead and wounded only occupying the 
ground on which they advanced. The assault on Smith's divis- 
ion commenced a few minutes after that on Harrow, and that on 
Osterhaus being less favorable for the enemy than that on Har- 
row's front, they were repulsed very handsomely, and with great 
loss, though they held on for some time tenaciously, but uselessly. 
Their dead and severely wounded were mostly left on the field. 
The engagement, from first to last, lasted about one hour, our 
troops in many places following the enemy, in their retreat, to 
their works. My losses were as follows : Killed, 30 ; wounded, 
295 ; missing, 54 ; aggregate, 379. We captured 97 prisoners. 
The loss of the enemy was estimated at 2,000. We buried of the 
enemy's dead in my front over 300 bodies." 

General Dodge said in his report: "Heavy skirmishing was 
kept up constantly until _; p. m. of the following day (May 28), 
when the enemy, massed in heavy columns, under cover of the 
timber, made a sudden assault upon our line. The first assault 
was promptly repulsed, but rallying and reforming his lines, he 
again, with increased force and impetuosity, charged and con- 
tested strongly for the possession of the works, many of his dead 
and wounded being left within fifty yards of our lines, some, in- 
deed, on the works. Three officers and a few enlisted men only 
succeeded in getting inside the works ; they were either killed in- 
stantly or captured. This assault, although most desperate and 
determined, was promptly and gallantly met and repulsed. Wel- 
ker's battery. Lieut. A. T. Blodgett, Thirty-ninth Iowa Infantry, 
commanding, being in a position on the front line, did most ex- 
cellent execution ; its constant fire of grape and canister, and the 
cool, steady fire of the men on the front line, told heavily upon the 
enemy, causing him to fall back in confusion, leaving his dead 
and many wounded in our hands. The men of my command en- 
gaged, being behind strong works which covered them, my loss 
was very small, while that of the enemy in my front was very 
large, especially in killed. One of my regiments (Sixty-sixth 
Indiana Infantry) having in its front alone, and within a few 
3'ards of the works, found and buried 53 dead rebels." 

On the 29th General Sherman thus explained the status of 
affairs to General Halleck at Washington : "Yesterday we pressed 



288 Atlanta And Its Builders 

our lines up in close contact with the enemy, who has covered his 
whole front with breast-works of timber and earth. With the 
intention of working to my left, toward the railroad, east of 
Allatoona, I ordered General McPherson, who is in advance of 
Dallas and forms my right, to send his trains to a point on Pump- 
kin Vine Creek about four miles north of his present position, 
and to withdraw his army and take Thomas's present position, 
while all of General Thomas's and General Schofield's armies will 
be moved farther to the east, working around the enemy to the 
left. The enemy, who had observed the movement of the trains 
from his higher position, massed against General McPherson and 
attacked him at 4.30 p. m. yesterday, but was repulsed with 
great slaughter and at little cost to us. The enemy fled back to 
his breast-works on the ridge, leaving in our hands his dead and 
wounded. Loss, 2,500 and about 300 prisoners. General Mc- 
Pherson's men being covered by log breast-works, like our old 
Corinth lines, were comparatively unhurt, his loss being not over 
300 in all. I give him to-day (Sunday) to gather in 
the wounded and bury the dead of both sides, and to- 
night and to-morrow will endeavor to gain ground to 
our left three or four miles. General Blair is now 
supposed to be near Rome. I will order him to march straight 
for Allatoona, which I infer the enemy has abandoned alto- 
gether, or left in the hands of militia. That point gained I will 
move to the left and resume railroad communications to the rear. 
I have no doubt Johnston has in my front every man he can 
scrape, and Mobile must now be at our mercy, if General Canby 
and General Banks could send to Pascagoula 10,000 men." 

On the night of the 28th General Schofield reported that the 
enemy made several very spirited attacks upon his lines, endeav- 
oring to regain the position for his line of skirmishers from 
which he was driven during the day. Sherman ordered Scho- 
field to hold firm, even to the hazard of a general engagement, re- 
marking that he could fight an attack there as well as anywhere. 
He, however, disliked to be thrown upon the defensive, but de- 
clared the best policy was to encourage Johnston to attack wher- 
ever possible. He proposed to bring McPherson up on the 30th, 
in order that Thomas might occupy all the front, embracing the 



New Hope Church And Dallas 289 

several Allatoona and Acworth roads. Upon leaving for Mc- 
Pherson's front, Sherman said to Thomas: "It is utterly impossi- 
ble that our enemy can hold his line in strength, and we must 
work to the left. There is no absolute necessity for undue haste 
as time will give us the advantage of General Blair's troops. 
I will go in person to Dallas, and after inspecting the ground, will 
begin the movement, and see if the enemy will attempt to sally 
and then judge whether we had not better draw him on and fight 
him. We must not remain on the defensive." 

At the same time Sherman dispatched Halleck : "To move 
General McPherson up to the center he has to make a retrograde 
of a mile or so, owing to difficult ground. Every time he at- 
tempted to withdraw, division by division, the enemy attacked his 
whole line, as also points of our main line. It may be on the 
theory that we wanted to draw off altogether. These assaults 
were made in the night, and were all repulsed with comparatively 
small loss to us, but seemingly heavy to the enemy. If we can 
induce the enemy to attack us, it is to our advantage. Do not ex- 
pect us to make much progress toward the Chattahoochee till 
General Blair comes up and moves into Allatoona Pass." 

A general battle was planned for the 29th by General Johns- 
ton. He places the responsibility for its non-occurrence upon 
Hood, in the following remarkable statement : "In the afternoon 
of the 28th Lieutenant-General Hood was instructed to draw 
his corps to the rear of our line in the early part of the night, 
march around our right flank, and form it facing the left flank 
of the Federal lines, and obliquely to it, and attack at dawn — 
Hardee and Polk to join in the battle successively as the success 
on the right of each might enable him to do so. We waited next 
morning for the signal — the sound of Hood's musketry — from 
the appointed time until 10 o'clock, when a message from that 
officer was brought by an aide-de-camp to the effect that he had 
found W. R. Johnson's division intrenching on the left of the 
Federal line and almost at right angles to it, and asked for in- 
structions. The message proved that there could be no surprise, 
which was necessary to success, and that the enemy's intrench- 
ments would be completed before we could attack. The corps 
was therefore recalled. It was ascertained afterward that after 

19-1 



290 Atlanta And Its Builders 

marching eight or ten hours, Hood's corps was then at least six 
miles from the Federal left, which was little more than a musket- 
shot from his starting point." 

Sherman declared on the 30th of May : "The use of the Ac- 
worth road is what we must fight for." He was disappointed 
because Blair had not reached Rome with his corps from Hunts- 
ville. It was his intention to have him take and garrison Alla- 
toona. He therefore changed his plans, ordering Stoneman and 
Garrard, two of his most dashing cavalry leaders, to make a raid 
at once upon Allatoona. In explanation of his plan he wrote Mc- 
Pherson : "As Blair cannot be expected as soon as I contemplated 
I must use the cavalry to secure Allatoona Pass. It should move 
by a road outside of the one traveled by Dodge's division, which 
goes to Owen's Mill. If the enemy follows he will do so cau- 
tiously, and I feel no doubt will be easily repulsed. I want 
Hooker relieved as early in the day as possible to give Schofield 
time to attack on our extreme left. As soon as the cavalry se- 
cures the Allatoona Pass, I will relieve them by infantry and re- 
call the cavalry to our flanks." 

On the first of June General Stoneman sent word from Alla- 
toona that he had arrived without molestation and had a strong 
position which he could hold against any reasonable force. Sher- 
man at once ordered the railroad put in condition for operation 
between Kingston and Allatoona, intending to make the latter 
place an impregnable central point of his North Georgia cam- 
paign. The same day McPherson succeeded in bringing his 
corps to New Hope Church, without serious interference on 
Hardee's part, his divisions occupying the trenches vacated by 
Hooker and Schofield, who were scheduled to advance upon the 
Acworth road, supported by McCook's cavalry. The plan was 
for Schofield to divide Johnston's forces by his movement in the 
direction of Burnt Hickory. Sherman expected battle to fol- 
low out the Acworth road. 

On the 2d of June Sherman sent the following information 
to the war department : "Yesterday General McPherson moved 
up from Dallas to the point in front of the enemy at New Hope 
Church, and Generals Schofield and Hooker were shifted to the 
extreme left. To-day they pushed forward in a heavy rain and 



New Hope Church And Dallas 291 

thunder storm, and have advanced about two miles toward Mari- 
etta. At the same time I sent General Stoneman's cavalry di- 
rectly to Allatoona and General Garrard's cavalry to the western 
end of the pass, both of whom reached their points and secured 
possession of the pass. So our movement has secured to us that 
pass which was considered a formidable one. I have ordered the 
railroad to be repaired, and will gradually move across by the 
left of the railroad. The country is most difficult, being of 
dense undergrowth and short steep ridges of flinty stone. Thus 
far we have had no real battle, but one universal skirmish extend- 
ing over a vast surface." 

Sherman still continued working steadily by the left to reach 
the railroad without too badly weakening his line. On the 3d 
Schofield got into the Acworth road, and some of McCook's cav- 
alry were in the town of Acworth. Schofield's orders were to 
work well around the flank of the enemy to the east, unless it was 
possible to force it without too heavy loss. Hooker was in close 
support, and Thomas was ordered to keep up the connection. To 
McPherson, who was holding the chief attention of the enemy at 
New Hope Church by a perpetual skirmish, Sherman sent this 
word: "If you hear sounds of battle, you will know that natur- 
ally Johnston will draw from his left (to your front) on the the- 
ory that we are there on the defensive. Therefore, 
when you do hear sounds of battle, hold the enemy 
there, or take advantage of his weakening that flank." 
In the meantime, Sherman was growing very impatient 
about the tardy arrival of Blair. He needed reinforce- 
ments to cover the immense scope of territory to be included 
in his extended lines. The Confederates did not have 
force enough to begin to keep abreast of his breastworks exten- 
sion to the left, as it was. Of this unequal condition, which 
finally resulted in compelling him to make a nearer approach to 
Atlanta, General Johnston says : "The extension of the Federal 
intrenchments toward the railroad was continued industriously 
to cut us off from it or to cover their approach to it. We tried to 
keep pace with them, but the labor did not prevent the desultory 
fighting, which was kept up while daylight lasted. In this the 
great inequality of force compelled us to employ dismounted cav- 
alrv." 



292 Atlanta And Its Builders 

To General Braxton Bragg, of the war department at Rich- 
mond, General Johnston sent this message on the 1st of June: 
"Since my last dispatch of May 28 our position was unchanged 
until to-day. To-day the enemy is moving his forces from his 
right to his left. We are making a corresponding movement to 
our right. Prisoners and the report of citizens represent his 
cavalry and transportation animals in a suffering condition. In 
every respect this army is in a healthy condition. In partial en- 
gagements it has had great advantage, and the sum of all the 
combats amounts to a battle. Reports from several sources 
represent reinforcements of 7,000 or 8,000 men on their way 
from Decatur, Ala., to General Sherman. They are said to be 
of the Seventeenth Army Corps, from the West." 

There was comparative inactivity for a day or two, the half- 
drowned and worn out soldiers exchanging desultory shots in the 
drenching rain from their muddy rifle-pits. Sherman wired 
Washington on the 4th : "My left is now well around, covering 
all roads from the south to the railroad about Acworth. My cav- 
alry has been at Acworth, and occupies in force all the Allatoona 
Pass, and I have ordered the railroad to be finished across the 
Etowah up to Allatoona bridge. General Blair is not yet at 
Rome, but is hourly expected, and I await him to push on to 
Marietta and the Chattahoochee. It has been raining for three 
days, making roads bad and swelling all the small mountain 
creeks, which, however, are easily bridged, and run out very 
soon. It is still raining. As soon as I hear of General Blair I 
will swing east by north over to the railroad, leaving Johnston to 
my right. He is in force, occupying blind and difficult ground, 
and we continue skirmishing along the whole front, each party 
inviting the other to attack." 

The next day Johnston had made his retrograde movement, 
and Sherman informed the authorities at the national capital as 
follows : "The enemy discovering us creeping round his right 
flank, abandoned his position and marched off last night. We 
captured about 30 of their pickets at daylight. General McPher- 
son is moving to-day for Acworth, General Thomas on the direct 
Marietta road, and General Schofield on his right. It has been 
raining hard for three days, and the roads are very heavy. The 



New Hope Church And Dallas 293 

construction party is at work on the Etowah bridge, and should 
repair it in rive days, when I will move on to Marietta. I expect 
the enemy to fight us at Kennesaw Mountain, near Marietta, but 
I will not run head on his fortifications. An examination of his 
abandoned lines here shows an immense line of works, all of 
which I have turned with less loss to ourselves than we have in- 
flicted on him. The wheat-fields of the country are our chief 
supply of forage, and we have in camp bread, meat, sugar, and 
coffee for many days — ample till the railroad will be complete to 
Ac worth/' 



CHAPTER XXIII 

INCH BY INCH 

For a period of three weeks, from the retirement of Johns- 
ton from his position at New Hope Church and Dallas to his 
greatest battle at Kennesaw Mountain, the movements of the op- 
posing armies are well characterized by the title of this chapter. 
But little and comparatively unimportant ground was yielded by 
the Confederates, and that worth having had to be fought for. 
And all the while it rained to an extent that made operations 
doubly difficult and painful. The streams were swollen beyond 
the passage of artillery and wagon trains, necessitating bridging 
at the fords. It seemed that nature was doing everything in her 
power to intensify the horrors of war. The soldiers lay day and 
night in slippery, slimy trenches, wet to the skin and much of the 
time numbed with cold, for the weather was very raw. As a 
natural result of such exposure and hardship, hundreds were sent 
to the hospital. Scurvy was prevalent, and wounds quickly de- 
veloped gangrene. The woods were seemingly interminable, a 
natural condition unfavorable to decisive combat. It was a sharp- 
shooters' fight during these weary, dismal days, and many brave 
men yielded up their lives on the skirmish line. 

It being apparent that the invasion of Georgia could only be 
checked by the rallying of her citizens en masse across the ene- 
my's path, Governor Brown made repeated efforts to aid John- 
ston by repeated levies of militia, concentrated at At- 
lanta and the approaches to the city for many miles. 
On June 4th Johnston received notice from Governor 
Brown that he had organized a division of 3,000 state 
troops under Major-General G. W. Smith, which had 
been placed at the disposal of the Confederate com- 

-'94 



Inch By Inch 295 

mander. Johnston instructed General Smith to so dispose his 
force as to most effectually guard the bridges and fords of the 
Chattahoochee leading to Atlanta. In the meantime, the work 
of fortifying Atlanta progressed with vigor. 

Johnston was badly in need of more regulars to enable him 
to prolong his lines, but his repeated requests for reinforcements 
met with discouraging responses from Richmond. His need was 
more pressing after the arrival of Blair at Kingston on the 6th. 
As he was situated, he could only retard, not prevent, Sherman's 
persistent flanking operations. As matters stood, Sherman had 
only to run out his line beyond his opponent's capacity to meet 
the move, when flanking could only be prevented by a retrogade 
movement on the latter's part. Johnston's lines were remarkably 
thin at New Hope Church, constantly inviting assault in the 
weakest places. Nothing but a sweeping victory in battle could 
have prevented the Union general's steady movement to the east. 
General Bragg appreciated Johnston's situation, but declared him- 
self powerless to help it. He addressed a note to President Davis 
on June 4th. touching the matter, in which a detailed list of Sher- 
man's strength, present and shortly prospective, was embodied. 
In this note General Bragg said : ''The condition of affairs in 
Georgia is daily becoming more serious, and though the enemy 
there has for a few days been quiet, I fear it is only to avail him- 
self of heavy reinforcements Should all these 

forces concentrate on the Army of Tennessee we may well ap- 
prehend disaster. As the entire available force of the Confed- 
eracy is now concentrated with our two main armies, I see no 
solution of this difficulty but in victory over one of the enemy's 
armies before the combination can be fully perfected, &c." 

As the Federal army moved cautiously toward Ac worth, the 
Confederate army was contracted in a way calculated to best 
cover the roads leading from that place to Atlanta. In the lan- 
guage of Johnston : "This brought the left of Hardee's corps to 
Gilgal church, Polk's right near the Marietta and Acworth road, 
and Hood's corps massed beyond that road." 

The movements and purposes of Sherman, after he discov- 
ered Johnston had left his front, can better be understood by re- 
producing his field orders, as follows: 



296 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Special Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 

Field Orders, /// the Field, on Little Allatoona Creek, 
No. 18. Ga., June 4, 1864. 

I. To-morrow, June 5, unless the enemy display more force 
and activity than now, Major-General McPherson will send his 
wagons to Burnt Church, on the Allatoona road, by a road to the 
rear of Major-General Thomas's road, and move with his com- 
mand by both roads to a point north of and near Burnt Church, 
ready the next day to move to Acworth, leaving his wagons be- 
hind Allatoona Creek. 

II. Major-General Thomas will refuse his right behind the 
creek on which Brown's Mill is located, and will prepare to move 
across Allatoona Creek to a point of the railroad in front of Ac- 
worth, say Big Shanty. 

III. Major-General Schofield will strengthen his position 
and so dispose of his wagons as to follow Major-General Thomas 
and with his troops cover his movements and occupy the point 
on Allatoona Creek north and east of his present position. 

IV. Allatoona will be the point of supply as soon as the 
railroad bridge can be completed, and, in the mean time, all trains 
and detachments at Kingston or Burnt Hickory will be directed 
to Allatoona, to which end Major-General Thomas will send his 
pontoons there, to be laid down until the pier and railroad can be 
rebuilt. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, 

Aidc-de-Cauip. 

At noon of the 6th Sherman telegraphed Halleck : "I am 
now on the railroad at Acworth station and have full possession 
forward to within six miles of Marietta." 

And on the day following : "I have been to Allatoona Pass, 
and I find it admirable for our purposes. It is the gate through 
the last, or most eastern, spur of the Alleghanies. It now be- 
comes as useful to us as it was to the enemy, being easily defended 
from either direction. My left (General McPherson) now lies 
on the railroad in front of Acworth, seven miles southeast of 
Allatoona; center (General Thomas) three miles south, on main 



Inch By Inch 297 

Marietta road; and right (General Schofield) two miles farther, 
a little refused. The cars now come to the Etowah River and we 
have sent back to replenish our supplies for a ten-days' move, to 
commence on Thursday, the 9th instant. Colonel Wright re- 
ports it will take him ten days, of which eight yet remain, to have 
cars come to Acworth. General Blair was at Kingston last night, 
and will be across the Etowah to-night, and will be up with us 
to-morrow. We have three pontoon bridges at Etowah. I will 
leave a brigade in the pass covering the bridge and its eastern 
dcbouchc, and have sent Captain Poe, U. S. Engineers, to lay out 
the work. The roads here into Georgia are large and good, and 
the country more open. The enemy is not in our immediate front, 
but his signals are seen on Lost Mountain and Kennesaw. I have 
had the cavalry at Allatoona Pass to get forage, but on the 9th 
will bring it forward. Colonel Long's brigade is with Blair, and 
will re-enforce our cavalry by 2,000 horses. I send you by mail 
to-day copies of my orders up to date, with Atlanta papers of the 
5th."" 

On the 8th General Johnston informed Richmond : "Our 
scouts report the enemy extending to our right and massing on 
the railroad between Acworth and Big Shanty. We are moving 
to meet this, and our line, extended across the railroad, runs from 
Gilgal Church to the north of the Kennesaw Mountain." 

On the 10th Johnston ordered Col. M. H. Wright, in com- 
mand of the ordnance department, at Atlanta, to put the engi- 
neers and negro laborers engaged on the fortifications of Atlanta 
to work on a strong line of defenses on the north bank of the 
Chattahoochee. These defenses were read}' for the defenders 
of Atlanta before the battle of Kennesaw Mt. was fought, and 
they were made with much engineering skill and thoroughness of 
labor. A large force of slaves was employed in the work. The 
sight of the negroes, stripped to the skin and crooning a quaint 
refrain as the picks struck and the red dirt flew from their shov- 
els, was a picturesque one. The larger part of them were loyal 
to "Marse Johnston," and their songs referred to the heroics of 
war. 

Johnston now determined to attempt a diversion, if possible. 
bv attacking- the enemy's communications far to the rear with 



298 Atlanta And Its Builders 

such cavalry as he could possibly spare from his front or as could 
be collected from other sources. He urged the importance of 
such a move in strong force upon the war authorities, suggesting 
that it promised results that would justify bringing Forrest over 
for that purpose. This being impossible, he sought to get such 
outside help as he could. To Major-General S. D. Lee, at 
Meridian, Miss., he telegraphed : "I respectfully urge the im- 
portance to the cause of breaking the railroad between Dalton 
and the Etowah. Your troops can do no other service so valu- 
able to the country." In the meantime he detached small forces 
of cavalry, which could illy be spared. 

On the nth Johnston wired Bragg: "Since the last dis- 
patch no change has taken place in our position beyond slight ex- 
tension to the right to correspond with the movements of the 
enemy. The enemy's forces seem to be collected around Big 
Shanty. Scouts inform us that he is rapidly completing the Eto- 
wah railroad bridge." 

On the 9th Sherman was prepared to move aggressively 
upon Kennesaw Mountain, as the following field orders show : 

Special 
Field Orders, Hdors. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 

No. 21. In the Field, Acworth, Ga., June 0, 1864. 

The armies will move forward to-morrow morning. 

I. Major-General Thomas the center, on the Burnt Hick- 
ory and Marietta road and such other roads as he may choose be- 
tween the Acworth and Marietta roads, aiming to strike the 
northern end of Kennesaw Mountain. 

II. Major-General McPherson will move by the Acworth 
and Marietta road, with a column following the railroad and his 
cavalry well to the left, after passing Big Shanty. 

III. Major-General Schofield will cover his wagons well 
about Mount Olive Church, and feel well with cavalry and skir- 
mishers down the road past Hardshell Church, to ascertain the 
enemy's strength about Lost Mountain and the ridge connecting 
it with Kennesaw Mountain. He will not pass the position about 
Hardshell Church in force until he is certain Major-General 
Thomas has reached some point on Kennesaw. 



Inch By Incli 299 

IV. The object will be to develop the enemy's position and 
strength, and to draw artillery fire from his intrenched works. 
This army will operate by heads of columns instead of deployed 
lines of battle, each column covering his head and flanks with 
good advance and flanking skirmishers, and be prepared to deploy 
promptly, according to danger. Intrenched positions will not be 
attacked without orders. Each head of column will have a good 
battery of heavy rifled artillery, and should use it freely against 
rail and log barricades, and also to indicate the positions of 
heads of columns. The flank columns will conform their mo- 
tions to that of the center. Either column reaching a good mili- 
tary position should intrench it by leaving a brigade, but should 
not delay its advance. 

V. Major-General Stoneman's cavalry will cover the right 
and Brigadier-General Garrard's the left flanks. Brigadier-Gen- 
eral McCook's cavalry should be kept to the rear, or to keep up 
communications. 

VI. The movement will begin at 6 a. m., and continue until 
some one of the columns reaches Kennesaw Mountain or until the 
center is checked. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, 

Aide-de-Camp. 

The next day Sherman informed Washington that his cav- 
alry had developed the position of the enemy in a line along the 
hills from Kennesaw to Lost Mountain, and that his army was 
now marching by three roads, all toward Kennesaw. with the in- 
tention of feeling the enemy's position in force, prepared to attack 
or turn it. At 4 o'clock on the afternoon of the 10th, Stanley's 
brigade, of Howard's division, came into collision with the enemy, 
and in compliance with field orders, moved straight against his 
works upon a hill in front. The hill was carried, after a stout 
resistance, and held against two charges of the Confederates in 
rapid succession. Learning that Johnston had a small cavalry 
force up around Calhoun, cutting his telegraph wire and burning 
railroad ties, Sherman ordered Garrard to move out on the Ros- 
well Factory road, until he had passed Brush Mountain, and then 



300 Atlanta And Its Builders 

turn south and threaten, if not attack, the railroad between 
Marietta and the Chattahoochee river. Three regiments of in- 
fantry were ordered down to Resaca from Chattanooga to keep 
the railroad clear of raiders in that vicinity. The work of devel- 
oping Johnston's lines went on in the meantime. On the nth, 
Sherman informed the war department : "Johnston is intrenched 
on the hills, embracing Lost Mountain, Pine HilL and Kennesaw. 
Our lines are down to him. but it has rained so hard and the 
ground is so boggy that we have not developed any weak point 
or flank. I will proceed with due caution and try to make no 
mistake. The Etowah bridge is done and a construction train 
has been to our very camps. Supplies will now be accumulated in 
Allatoona Pass, or brought right up to our lines. One of my 
chief objects being to give full employment to Johnston, it makes 
but little difference where he is, so he is not on his way to Vir- 
ginia." 

Of the slow operations during this rainy, discouraging 
period, General Howard said : "Slowly, with skirmishes and 
small combats, for the most part in dense woods, we continuously 
advanced. On my front we seized the skirmish holes of the 
enemy, made epaulements for batteries there, and little by little 
extended our deep ditches or log-barricades close up to John- 
ston's. As we settled down to steady work again, McPherson 
was near Brush Mountain, having pushed down the railroad. 
F. P. Blair's corps (the Seventeenth) from Huntsville, Ala., had 
now joined him, making up for our losses, which were already, 
from all causes, upward of 9,000. This accession gave heart to 
us all. Thomas was next, advancing and bearing away toward 
Pine Top, and Schofield coming up against the salient angle near 
Gilgal Church. To tell the work of these two opposing hosts in 
their new position is a similar story to the last. There was gal- 
lant fighting here and there all along the lines. Here it was that 
batteries, opening fire under the direct instruction of Sherman, 
drove back the enemy from the exposed intrenchments on Pine 
Top. Tt was at this time that General Polk was killed. McPher- 
son. by overlapping Hood, skirmished heavily, and captured the 
Fortieth Alabama regiment entire. Schofield, brushing away the 
cavalry, penetrated between Lost Mountain and Gilgal Church, 



Inch By Inch 301 

put his artillery on a prominent knoll, and, with rapid discharges, 
took Hardee in reverse." 

The killing of Lieutenant-General Polk cast gloom over the 
Confederate army. On the morning of the 14th, Generals John- 
ston, Hardee and Polk, accompanied by a number of staff officers, 
rode to the summit of Pine Mountain to decide if the outposts 
there should be maintained. The group, standing out promi- 
nently against the sky-line in an open space, attracted the atten- 
tion of the Union artillerists at once, and the Parrotts of a battery 
a quarter of a mile in front, were trained upon it. The generals 
had concluded their examination, and after deciding to abandon 
the hill that night, were turning to leave, when the shots from 
the battery in question began to pass uncomfortably close to 
them. At the third shot General Polk reeled in his saddle and fell 
heavily to the ground without uttering a sound. Death had been 
instantaneous, the great ball entering his chest from left to right, 
tearing his lungs out. Major-General W. W. Loring succeeded 
to the command of Polk's corps. The Union Army learned of 
Polk's death as soon as the calamity was known to the Confeder- 
ate Army, the signal from Pine Mountain announcing the trag- 
edy being read by the enemy- During this period the Federals 
were in possession of the entire Confederate signal code and used 
the knowledge to the best advantage. 

Sherman was carefully studying Johnston's position on 
Kennesaw and Lost Mountains, with the view to adopt some plan 
to dislodge or draw him out of his position. He was unwilling 
to risk the heavy losses of an assault at such a distance from his 
base, unless as the last alternative. On the 15th, General Hascall, 
of Schofield's corps, pushed forward his right and succeeded in 
turning the enemy's left, while Cox advanced his center. Some 
sharp fighting ensued, and that flank of the Federal Army gained 
some ground. Pine Mountain had been abandoned during the 
preceding night, and the ground Schofield took had been left ex- 
posed in consequence. McPherson, at the same time, carried a 
hill to his left front, capturing the Fortieth Alabama regiment, 
320 strong. Thomas pushed the enemy back in his front for a 
distance of a mile and a half, trying to gain possession of the 
Dallas and Marietta road. Hooker and Howard, his able lieu- 



302 Atlanta And Its Builders 

tenants, moved under a hot skirmish fire close up to the main 
Confederate works and fortified. Severe fighting occurred on the 
high ridge south of Pine Mountain, connecting Kennesaw with 
Lost Mountain. General Geary's division conducted the center 
of the assault at this point, which did not result in breaking the 
Confederate lines. Geary reported his loss at 519. 

On the 1 6th Sherman telegraphed General Halleck at Wash- 
ington : "General Thomas did not make the progress last night 
I expected. He found the enemy strongly intrenched on a line 
slightly advanced, from a slight line connecting Lost Mountain 
and Kennesaw. I have been along it to-day, and am pressing up 
close. Shall study it, and am now inclined to feign on both 
flanks and assault the center. It may cost us dear, but in results 
would surpass an attempt to pass around. The enemy has a 
strong position and covers his roads well, and the only weak part 
of his game is having the Chattahoochee to his rear. If, by as- 
saulting, I can break his line, I see no reason why it would not 
produce a decisive effect. I know that he shifts his troops about 
to meet our supposed attacks and thereby fatigues his men, and 
the woods will enable me to mask our movements." 

On the same day Johnson wired Richmond: "Since my 
last dispatch the enemy has, as usual, been approaching by forti- 
fying. I can find no mode of preventing this. I repeat the 
suggestion that the cavalry in Alabama be put in the enemy's 
rear." 

Before daylight on the 17th, Johnston fell back to a new line, 
prepared in advance, just behind Mud Creek. He did not shift 
his right wing, however. The Federals lost no time in follow- 
ing. "Just where the old lines joined the new," said General 
Howard, "I saw a feat the like of which never elsewhere fell un- 
der my observation. Baird's division, in a comparatively open 
field, put forth a heavy skirmish-line, which continued such a 
rapid fire of rifles as to keep down a corresponding hostile line 
behind its well-constructed trenches, while the picks and shovels 
behind the skirmishers fairly flew, till a good set of works was 
made four hundred yards distant from the enemy's and parallel 
to it. One of my brigades (Harker's), by a rush, did also a 
brave and unusual thing in capturing an intrenched and well- 



Inch By Inch 303 

defended line of the enemy's works and taking- their defenders 
captive. Again, another (Kirby's) brigade, having lost Bald 
Hill in a skirmish, retook it by a gallant charge in line, under a 
hoc fire of infantry and artillery, and intrenched and kept it." 

After he discovered Johnston's move, Sherman changed his 
plans slightly to conform to it. He proposed to have Thomas 
push the enemy's center and try to get on the Marietta and Vin- 
ing's Bridge road, to the rear of Marietta. His purpose was to 
get between Johnston and Atlanta without uncovering his own 
base. To Thomas he said: 'T want you, in case Johnston 
maneuvers outside of intrenched lines, to press him close up, 
whilst I cause McPherson and Schofield to strike him in some ex- 
posed point." 

On the night of the 17th Sherman sent this message to 
Washington : "By last night we had worked so close to John- 
ston's center that he saw that the assault must follow. He de- 
clined it. and abandoned Lost Mountain, and some six miles of as 
good field-works as I ever saw. My right and center are, in con- 
sequence, swung forward so that my right now threatens his rail- 
road to Atlanta. I worked hard to-day to get over to that road, 
but the troops seem timid in these dense forests of stumbling on a 
hidden breast-work. I therefore simply report good progress to- 
day, some hundred prisoners, and but few lives lost. We begin 
to find more fields and cleared land. McPherson still faces Ken- 
nesaw, covering our railroad. General Thomas is on a curved 
line from Kennesaw, around to where the Sandtown road forks 
off' from the lower road from Dallas to Marietta, and Schofield is 
massed on the Sandtown road, head of column at Noyes' Creek: 
Enemy still holds Kennesaw in force, and lies back of Noyes' 
Creek, near the Atlanta road." 

Promptly the Army of the Cumberland advanced its right 
about three miles, swinging upon its left as a pivot, and simul- 
taneously the Army of the Ohio, on the extreme right, moved 
about four miles, across Noyes' Creek. McPherson made heavy 
demonstrations on Johnston's right to assist the advance of the 
other two corps. Johnston had lost hold of Lost Mountain and 
the broken ground between it and Kennesaw Mountain, and 
Sherman's lines now enveloped the former mountain from north- 
east to south. Most of the work was being done by artillery. 



304 Atlanta And Its Builders 

The following letter, written by General Sherman to General 
Grant, under date of the 18th, is of unusual interest as bearing" 
on the Atlanta campaign : 

In the Field, June 18, 1864. 
[General U. S. Grant:] 

Dear General : I have no doubt you want me to write you 
occasionally letters not purely official, but which will admit of a 
little more latitude than such documents possess. I have daily 
sent to Halleck telegraphs which I asked him to report to you, 
and which he says he has done. You, therefore, know where we 
are and what we have done. If our movement has been slower 
than you calculated I can explain the reason, though I know you 
believe me too earnest and impatient to be behind time. My first 
movement against Johnston was really fine, and now I believe I 
would have disposed of him at one blow if McPherson had 
crushed Resaca, as he might have done, for then it was garrisoned 
only by a small brigade, but Mc. was a little over cautious lest 
Johnston, still at Dalton, might move against him alone ; but the 
truth was I got all of McPhersoiTs army, 23,000, eighteen miles 
to Johnston's rear before he knew they had left Huntsville. With 
that single exception McPherson has done very well. Schofield 
also does as well as I could ask with his small force. Our cavalry 
is dwindling away. We cannot get full forage and have to graze, 
so that the cavalry is always unable to attempt anything. Garrard 
is over-cautious and I think Stoneman is lazy. The former has 
4,500 and the latter about 2.500. Each has had fine chances of 
cutting in but were easily checked by the appearance of an enemy. 
My chief source of trouble is with the Army of the Cumberland, 
which is dreadfully slow. A fresh furrow in a plowed field will 
stop the whole column, and all begin to intrench. I have again 
and again tried to impress on Thomas that we must assail and not 
defend ; we are the offensive, and yet it seems the whole Army of 
the Cumberland is so habituated to be on the defensive that, from 
its commander down to the lowest private, I cannot get it out 
of their heads. I came out without tents and ordered all to do 
likewise, vet Thomas has a headquarters camp on the style of 
Halleck at Corinth ; every aide and orderly with a wall-tent, and a 



Inch By IncJi 305 

baggage train big enough for a division. He promised to send 
it all back, but the truth is everybody there is allowed to do as 
he pleases, and they still think and act as though the railroad and 
all its facilities were theirs. This slowness has cost me the loss 
of two splendid opportunities which never recur in war. At 
Dallas there was a delay of four hours to get ready to advance, 
when we first met Johnston's head of column, and that four hours 
enabled him to throw up works to cover the head of his column, 
and he extended the works about as fast as we deployed. Also 
here I broke one of his lines, and had we followed it up as I or- 
dered at daylight, there was nothing between us and the railroad 
back of Marietta. I ordered Thomas to move at daylight, and 
when I got to the point at Q.30, I found Stanley and Wood quar- 
reling which should not lead. I'm afraid I swore, and said what 
I should not, but I got them started, but instead of reaching the 
Atlanta road back of Marietta, which is Johnston's center, we 
only got to a creek to the south of it by night, and now a heavy 
rain stops us and gives time to fortify a new line. Still I have all 
the high and commanding ground, but the one peak near Ma- 
rietta, which I can turn. We have had an immense quantity of 
rain, from June 2 to 14. and now it is raining as though it had no 
intention ever to stop. The enemy's cavalry sweeps all round 
us, and is now to my rear somewhere. The wires are broken 
very often, but I have strong guards along the road which make 
prompt repairs. Thus far our supplies of food have been good, 
and forage moderate, and we have found growing wheat, rye, 
oats, etc. You may go on with the full assurance that I will con- 
tinue to press Johnston as fast as I can overcome the natural ob- 
stacles and inspire motion into a large, ponderous, and slow (by 
habit) army. Of course, it cannot keep up with my thoughts and 
wishes, but no impulse can be given it that I will not guide. 

As ever, your friend, 

W. T. Sherman. 

The lines of battle of the contending armies were in close 
contact night and day. and here and there over the wide field 
there occurred desperate, though unnamed, engagements. John- 
ston held his ground stubbornly, risking as little as possible by 



306 Atlanta And Its Builders 

coming out of his trenches, which were constantly swept by a 
storm of Federal projectiles. In places the lines were not more 
than a pistol shot apart, and either side could hear the other's 
conversation and slightest movement. The Federals were at a 
decided disadvantage, crowding up as they were under the strong- 
ly posted batteries of the Confederates, and their losses were nat- 
urally much heavier than the Confederate's. Frequently they 
hurled themselves boldly against the works in front, only to find 
them impossible to be carried by direct assault. Baffled, they 
dropped back a few feet to their "head-logs" and waited. The 
while it rained almost without intermission. 

On the night of the 18th, Johnston again changed the greater 
part of his line, still holding Kennesaw Mountain as the apex of 
his position. Fie threw back his flank and abandoned all his 
works in front of that commanding eminence, and the next morn- 
ing his flanks were behind Noonday and Noyes' Creeks. 
Straight against him Sherman pressed. Schofield bridged Noyes' 
Creek and advanced with determination. Hooker and Howard 
kept hammering away. On the 20th, General Stanley charged a 
hill in his front and took it, with a number of prisoners. The 
pioneers had only time to throw up a few rails when the Con- 
federates advanced in strong force to repossess their line. Three 
times they were charged and were repulsed, the loss on both sides 
being heavy. The third charge carried a part of the Federal line, 
but the assailants were compelled to retire before the reinforce- 
ments hurried to the breach. Another adjoining hill was car- 
ried by the Federal brigade of Kirby, but the Confederates drove 
him back with loss. The next day the brigade, supported by the 
advance of General Woods's division, recovered the position. 
There were some lively cavalry tilts all around the field. Jack- 
son's cavalry made a gallant stand to delay the Federal advance, 
while the army was shifting its position, and a portion of Wheel- 
er's command worsted a portion of Garrard's command, on the 
2 1 st. In the meantime, some spirited raiding was going on in 
the rear. 

Sherman sent the following tidings to General Halleck on 
the 21st: "This is the nineteenth day of rain, and the prospect 
of clear weather as far oft as ever. The roads are impassable, and 



Inch By Inch 307 

fields and woods become quagmires after a few wagons have 
crossed, yet we are at work all the time. The left flank is across 
Noonday and the right across Noyes' Creek. The enemy hold 
Kennesaw, a conical mountain, with Marietta behind it, and has 
retired his flank to cover that town and his railroad. I am all 
ready to attack the moment weather and roads will permit troops 
and artillery to move with anything like life." 

Sherman had an exaggerated idea of the enemy's cavalry 
operations in his rear, thinking that Wheeler had gone across the 
Etowah in force. His military sense told him that his opponent's 
wisest move would be to seriously cripple the Federal communica- 
tions, and he read the reports of the daily small raids with 
anxiety. He said to Thomas : "I have an idea that Johnston is 
holding" on to cover the return of his cavalry. I hardly think he 
will fight us on anything like equal terms with the Chattahoochee 
behind him." Johnston was holding on with the hope that Rich- 
mond would act upon his advice and send a strong force from 
the west, preferably under command of Forrest, to break Sher- 
man's railroad effectually. And at the same time he was con- 
serving and wisely disposing the force under him. On the 21st he 
informed Richmond : "The situation is not essentially changed 
since my last dispatch. The enemy are apparently strengthening 
and extending their right on a line running generally north and 
south. On our right Wheeler yesterday, with 1,100 cavalry from 
Allen's, Anderson's, and Williams's brigades, Harrison's regi- 
ment, and a battery of artillery, attacked Garrard's division of 
cavalry; drove it from the field, kiling 30 or 40, capturing as 
many more. The continued heavy rain has made the roads al- 
most impassable. Military operations off them next to impossi- 
ble." 

On the night of the 21st, Hood, who had been massed op- 
posite McPherson, made a forced march and suddenly appeared 
on Johnston's other flank, fronting Hooker and Schofield. This 
move, Johnston afterwards explained, was necessary because of 
the extension of the Federal line to the south, protected by the 
swollen condition of Noyes' Creek. General Wheeler was or- 
dered to hold the Confederate right, and his cavalry dismounted 
and occupied the trenches vacated by Hood. On the 22d, Hood 



308 Atlanta And Its Builders 

attacked the enemy in his front. This was the "Battle of Kolb's 
Farm," speaking of which and Hood, Howard said: "With his 
know method of charging and firing, he delivered there a des- 
perate attack." This engagement resulted disastrously to the 
Confederates and failed in its purpose. The orders under which 
Hooker and Schofield were acting are explained by the following 
note from Sherman to Thomas, dated on the morning of the 
battle: "I have ordered Schofield to cross his whole command 
over Noyes' Creek, and turn the head of his column up toward 
Marietta, until he reaches Hooker, to support and co-operate on 
his right, but to keep his cavalry and a part of his rear infantry 
on the Sandtown road, prepared to regain it in case the enemy 
show signs of let go. I fear we will get our commands too close, 
but I suppose Schofield can find room to deploy south of the 
Powder Springs and Marietta road. You may order Hooker 
to extend to that road and leave Schofield beyond. If he can get 
possession of the ground up to Mrs. Kolb's I wish him to do so, 
and the balance of your line to conform." 

It was at the battle of the 226. that Hooker received a re- 
proof from Sherman for signalling that he was uneasy about his 
right flank, which Schofield had orders to protect, thus inferen- 
tially criticising the latter, who was prepared to fully comply with 
his instructions. Hooker took the reproof very much to heart, 
and his enmity against his superior officer, then incurred, cul- 
minated in his resignation before the fall of Atlanta. Hooker's 
field report of the conflict at Kolb's Farm, written at midnight 
after the occurrence, was as follows : "I have the honor to report 
that the operations of the Twentieth Corps commenced with 
throwing forward Geary's division and driving away the rebels 
from some commanding heights about a mile in advance of my 
center. When this was accomplished batteries were posted to 
sweep the ground to the left to enable Butterfield to advance about 
the same distance and take possession of some wooded heights, 
which were held by the enemy, as it was believed that the pos- 
session of them would give us command of the Dallas and Ma- 
rietta road, and that in rear of the enemy in front of the Fourth 
Corps. Meanwhile Williams threw forward his right flank, driv- 
ing the enemy before him, step by step, between two and three 



Inch By Inch 309 

miles, to the Kolb house, on the Powder Springs and Marietta 
road, his left connecting with Geary. This was the position of 
the corps at 2 o'clock. Soon after Hascall's division, of the 
Twenty-third Corps, came up on the Powder Springs road, and 
as it was yet early an effort was made to push the right still 
farther forward on the last-named road, as it was thought some 
advantage would be gained by establishing ourselves on some 
high ground beyond. General Knipe threw forward a force on 
the road, and also skirmishers on the left, while Major-General 
Schofield advanced a similar column from the Twenty-third 
Corps on the right. Before advancing far they encountered the 
enemy in force, and in order to gain time to establish our lines 
and batteries the advanced troops were instructed to make a reso- 
lute defense, and only abandon their position when overcome by 
superior numbers. About 4.30 p. m. the enemy had deployed his 
lines and commenced throwing his masess forward with great 
violence on our right and center, which was madly persisted in 
until after sundown. As often as he made his assaults he was 
spiritedly repulsed, sometimes with his columns hopelessly broken 
and demoralized. Our artillery did splendid execution among 
them. At this hour I have no means of estimating his loss or my 
own. The enemy's must be severe; ours inconsiderable for the 
number of men engaged and the heavy blow they gave to the 
enemy. After his troops were routed it was my desire to pursue, 
but the smallness of my force available for the service would not 
justify the movement. The conduct of the troops throughout the 
day was sublime." 

General Schofield's general report refers briefly to Kolb's 
Farm, as follows : "On the 226. we crossed the creek in force. 
General Cox advanced on the Sandtown road to the intersection 
of the Powder Springs and Marietta road, at Cheney's, and in- 
trenched that position. General Hascall moved toward Marietta 
and connected with the right of the Twenty-third Corps at Kolb's. 
While reconnoitering with General Hoker, with a view to ad- 
vancing our troops to a more desirable position, we discovered 
that the enemy was advancing in heavy force to attack us; our 
troops were therefore ordered to intrench the position they then 
held as rapidly as possible, while the Fourteenth Kentucky, of 



310 Atlanta And Its Builders 

General Hascall's division, which was covering the reconnais- 
sance, was ordered to hold the enemy in check to gain time for 
the troops to prepare for defense. This gallant regiment detained 
the enemy an hour and a half, and only retired to the main line 
when ordered to do so, contesting stubbornly every foot of 
ground. The enemy now advanced in mass in front of General 
Hascall and General Hooker's right, but was quickly repulsed 
with heavy loss by the fire of our infantry and artillery in posi- 
tion. As soon as the advance of the enemy was discovered Gen- 
eral Cox was ordered forward with three brigades, leaving the 
fourth to hold the position at Cheney's, and took position in re- 
serve upon the right." 

Hood dismisses this battle in a report of two or three lines. 
He said, after relating the experience of his corps at New Hope 
Church : "Nothing of importance occurred on my line while in 
this position, save that on the 226. of June the divisions of Ste- 
venson and Hindman attacked the enemy, driving him from two 
lines of works and capturing some prisoners belonging to Scho- 
field and Hooker." 

General Johnston wrote of the affair : "On the 22d, General 
Hood reported that Hindman's and Stevenson's divisions of his 
corps, having been attacked, had driven back the Federal troops 
and had taken a line of breastworks, from which they had been 
driven by the artillery of the enemy's main position. Subsequent 
detailed accounts of this affair prove that after the capture of the 
advanced line of breastworks General Hood directed his two divi- 
sions against the enemy's main line. The slow operation of a 
change of front under the fire of the artillery of this main line 
subjected the Confederates to a loss of one thousand men — 
whereupon the attempt was abandoned, either by the general's 
orders, or by the discretion of the troops." 

The report of General Hindman could not be found, but 
General Stevenson says : "My division had for one or two days 
previous to the 22d of June been lying in reserve on the extreme 
left of the infantry of the army, about three miles from Marietta, 
on the Powder Springs road. About 12 m. I moved the com- 
mand farther from Marietta and halted it at Mount Zion Church. 
The enemy, as I moved forward, were driving in the cavalry. 



Inch By Inch 31 1 

About 2.30 p. m. I was directed to take position on the left of 
General Hindman's division, about half a mile in advance of the 
church. I at once advanced my skirmishers, and, driving those of 
the enemy, established my line under fire of his artillery. Brown's 
and Cumming's brigades formed the first line, Reynolds's and Pet- 
tus's the second. The men hastily constructed breast-works of 
logs and rails. Soon afterwards I received orders to advance 
from my position and drive the enemy on the road toward Man- 
ning's Mill. The division of General Hindman was also directed 
to advance on my right. I placed General dimming in charge of 
the first line — Brown's and Cumming's brigades, commanded by 
Cols. Ed. C. Cook( Thirty-second Tennessee) and E. P. Wat- 
kins (Fifty-sixth Georgia), respectively, and General Pettus in 
charge of the second line — Reynolds's and Pettus's brigades, com- 
manded by Cols. R. C. Trigg (Fifty-fourth Virginia) and C. M. 
Shelley (Thirtieth Alabama), respectively. A good deal of time 
was occupied in getting and giving instructions and making the 
necessary preparations. About 5 p. m. we advanced and soon 
struck the enemy, driving him quickly before us from his ad- 
vanced works, which consisted of one line of logs and rail works 
complete, and one partially constructed. The fire under which 
this was done was exceedingly heavy, and the artillery of the 
enemy, which was massed in large force and admirably posted, 
was served with a rapidity and fatal precision which could not be 
surpassed. The nature of the ground over which we passed was 
most unfavorable to such a movement — the two right brigades 
moved for much of the way over open fields, the two left through 
dense undergrowth. The line thus became more irregular and 
broken every moment, and when the two right brigades had 
driven the enemy into their main works the line was so much 
broken and mixed up that, although the men were in good spirits 
and perfectly willing to make the attempt, it was not deemed 
practicable to carry the works by assault. The commands were 
halted and the best possible line, under the circumstances, formed. 
Brown's and Trigg's (Reynolds's) brigades lay in a swampy ra- 
vine within pistol-shot of the enemy's works ; the other two 
brigades held the road on their left. The dead and wounded were 
all removed to the rear, and after holding our position for several 



312 Atlanta And Its Builders 

hours, in compliance with the orders of General Hood, the divi- 
sion returned to its old position. With perhaps some few ex- 
ceptions the conduct of the troops was highly creditable. 

"My loss was heavy — 807 killed and wounded." 

While the battle at Kolb's Farm was in progress, Sherman 
ordered McPherson to leave a light force to cover his flank and 
throw the remainder rapidly, and as much out of view as possi- 
ble, to the Federal right. He was told to be prepared for rapid 
action on the next morning, so disposing matters that the big guns 
on Kennesaw would do as little mischief as possible. McCook, 
who had taken a force of his cavalry to the Chattahoochee with 
the intention of effecting a crossing, if practicable, returned with 
the report that the fords were all too strongly guarded and that 
the enemy had a complete chain of defenses clear to the river. 

On the evening of the 23d, General Sherman sent this ex- 
planation of the situation to Washington: "We continue to 
press forward, operating on the principle of an advance against 
fortified positions. The whole country is one vast fort, and John- 
ston must have full fifty miles of connected trenches, with abatis 
and finished batteries. We gain ground daily, fighting all the 
time. On the 21st General Stanley gained a position near the 
southeast of Kennesaw, from which the enemy attempted in vain 
to drive him, and the same day General T. J. Wood's division 
took a hill, which the enemy assaulted three times at night with- 
out success, leaving more than 100 dead on the ground. Yes- 
terday the extreme right (Hooker and Schofield) advanced on 
the Powder Springs road to within three miles of Marietta. The 
enemy made a strong effort to drive them away, but failed sig- 
nally, leaving more than 200 dead on the field. Our lines are 
now in close contact and the fighting incessant, with a good deal 
of artillery. As fast as we gain one position the enemy has an- 
other all ready, but I think he will soon have to let go Kennesaw, 
which is the key to the whole country. The weather is now bet- 
ter, and the roads are drying up fast. Our losses are light, and, 
notwithstanding the repeated breaks of the road to our rear, sup- 
plies are ample." 

On the 22d General Johnston asked the assignment of Lieu- 
tenant-General R. S. Ewell to his armv. The following day 



Inch By Inch 313 

word came from Richmond that Major-General A. P. Stewart 
had been appointed lieutenant-general to command the corps of 
the late Lientenant- General Polk. On the 24th Johnston informed 
Bragg of the engagement at Mrs. Kolb's farm, as follows : "Lieu- 
tenant-General Hood, on our left, reports that, being attacked on 
the afternoon of the 22d, he drove back the enemy, taking one 
entire line of his breast works. The pursuit was stopped by ex- 
posure to fire of fixed batteries. Stevenson's division mainly en- 
gaged; Hindman's slightly. Brisk skirmishing on Hardee's 
front much of the day yesterday, and a good deal of cannonading 
on Loring's." 

It was now on the eve of the bloody battle, or rather, bat- 
tles, of Kennesaw Mountain. Sherman had intended to evade 
that impregnable stronghold, and doubtless it was one of his life- 
time regrets that he did not do so. He might have broken 
through Johnston's lines, or made a wide flank movement, as he 
did in the case of Allatoona. When he did finally reach the Chat- 
tahoochee, it was without having carried the heights of Kenne- 
saw. The following note of Sherman to Thomas, dated the 24th, 
presages the great battle that was to follow : "Schofield reports 
he can't go ahead for the enemy and his intrenchments, and is 
far outflanked. I suppose the enemy, with his smaller force, in- 
tends to surround us. But I propose to study the ground well, 
and the day after to-morrow break through, after letting him de- 
velop his line as much as possible and attenuate. According to 
Blair his right is now at Roswell Factory, and according to Scho- 
field his left is more than a mile to his right, across Olley's Creek ; 
so our best chance is to break through. I am just making orders 
mi this subject, which I wish kept to army commanders for the 
present. Railroad and telegraph again broken between Dalton 
and Tunnel Hill. McPherson had a column one mile and a half 
to his left front on the Bell's Ferry road, and is now feeling Ken- 
nesaw. Hooker and Schofield will advance along the Powder 
Springs road as soon as they come." 



CHAPTER XXIV 

KENNESAW MOUNTAIN 

Speaking of the conditions immediately preceding" the battle 
of Kennesaw Mountain, General Howard wrote : "Again, by 
the gradual pressure against Johnston's right and left, Sherman 
forced him to a new contraction of his lines. This time it was 
the famous Kennesaw position that he assumed. With his right 
still at Brush Mountain, he extended a light force over the crest 
of the Kennesaws, and placed a heavier one along the southern 
slope, reaching far beyond the Dallas and Marietta road. He 
drew back his left and fortified. The whole line was stronger in 
artificial contrivances and natural features than the cemetery at 
Gettysburg. The complete works, the slashings in front, and 
the difficulties of the slope toward us under a full sweep of cross- 
fire, made the position almost impregnable. For reasons similar 
to those which influenced Lee to strike twice for Little Round 
Top, Sherman ordered an assault here with the hope of carrying 
the southern slope of Kennesaw, or of penetrating Johnston's 
long front at some weak point." 

Pending the great battle, both armies drew in their lines, 
contracting them as closely as possible around Marietta. Their 
skirmishers were constantly in close contact, each side watching 
closely for a favorable opening. June 25th. Davis's division, of 
Palmer's corps, being on the extreme left of Thomas, was re- 
lieved by troops from General McPherson's army and moved to 
a position in reserve, behind the right of Howard's line. This 
change was effected after dark, and by daylight on the 26th 
Davis's troops had reached the position assigned them. Baird's 
division, of Palmer's corps, being relieved by troops of the Army 
of the Tennessee, was also withdrawn from its position in line in 
front of Kennesaw Mountain and moved during the night of the 

314 



Kennesaiv Mountain 315 

26th to a position in reserve near that occupied by Davis's troops. 
On the 24th General Logan attempted to gain the summit of the 
mountain with a double line of skirmishers, the opinion of his 
superiors being that the position was only held by a strong skir- 
mish line of the enemy. The skirmish line advanced in good 
order, at each step meeting with stronger resistance, until it had 
gained a point within 200 yards of the crest, when it was seen 
that a further advance could not possibly be made without rein- 
forcements. No order being sent him to continue the advance, 
Logan caused his skirmishers to be withdrawn to a position nearer 
the main line, where they were protected by skirmish-pits. This 
movement proved the Confederates to be in possession of the 
mountain in force, which fact it was intended to develop. Scho- 
field tried in vain to overreach the Confederate left, and was at a 
deadlock for a time. On the 26th Reilly's brigade of Cox's 
division, pushed forward from Cheney's, on the Sandtown road, 
and drove the enemy across Olley's Creek, where the latter had 
held strong ground, with artillery in position. All the while 
artillery played freely from the fronts of both armies. 

The field orders under which the battle of Kennesaw Moun- 
tain was fought were as follows : 

Special Field Orders, Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 

No. 28. In the Field, near Kennesaw Mountain, 

June 24, 1864. 
The army commanders will make full reconnaissances and 
preparations to attack the enemy in force on the 27th instant, at 
8 a. m. precisely. The commanding general will be on Signal 
Hill, and will have telegraphic communication with all the army 
commanders. 

I. Major-General Thomas will assault the enemy at any 
point near his center, to be selected by himself, and will make any 
changes in his troops necessary by night, so as not to attract the 
attention of the enemy. 

II. Major-General McPherson will feign by a movement of 
his cavalry and one division of infantry on his extreme left, ap- 
proaching Marietta from the north, and using artillery freely, but 
will make his real attack at a point south and west of Kennesaw. 



316 Atlanta And Its Builders 

III. Major-General Schofield will feel well to his extreme 
right and threaten that flank of the enemy with artillery and 
display, but attack some one point of the enemy's line as near the 
Marietta and Powder Springs road as he can with prospect of 
success. 

IV. All commanders will maintain reserve and secrecy, 
even from their staff officers, but make all the proper preparations 
and reconnaissances. When troops are to be shifted to accom- 
plish this attack the movements will be made at night. At the 
time of the general attack the skirmishers at the base of Kenne- 
saw will take advantage of it to gain, if possible, the summit and 
hold it. 

V. Each attacking column will endeavor to break a single 
point of the enemy's line, and make a secure lodgment beyond, 
and be* prepared for following it up toward Marietta and the 
railroad in case of success. 

By order of Maj-Gen. W. T. Sherman. 

L. M. Dayton, Aide-de-Camp. 

General Sherman, on the 25th, thus explained his intentions 
to the war department: "I have nothing new to report. Con- 
stant skirmishing and cannonading. I am making some changes 
in the disposition of our men, with a view to attack the enemy's 
left center. I shall aim to make him stretch his line until he 
weakens it and then break through. Johnston has made repeated 
attempts to break our road in the rear, and has succeeded in two 
instances, which were promptly repaired. General Steedman, at 
Chattanooga, reports that General Pillow approached from the 
south with 3,000 men, but was met at LaFayette by Colonel Wat- 
kins and repulsed. Full details not yet received. I think the 
arrangements to protect our rear are ample as against any prob- 
able danger." 

In compliance with the orders heretofore quoted, the storm- 
ing of the two Kennesaws began promptly at 8 o'clock on the 
morning of the 27th, the attack being directed against the Con- 
federate center and right. General Thomas was charged with 
the impossible task of taking the former position, and General 
McPherson the latter. Thomas commanded two attacks, one 
x pposite General Loring's left, and the other in front of General 



Kennesazv Mountain 317 

Cheatham. Newton's division led Howard's assault, and Davis 
that of Palmer. Logan's corps, representing McPherson, ad- 
vanced straight against the mountain. The story of the battle 
is a thrilling one, and while the reports of the leaders who waged 
it seem tame, by their simple statement of details, the most im- 
portant ones are quoted as being more authentic than mere pen- 
pictures. Before giving the reports of the field officers, the 
reader will be given an opportunity to graphically comprehend 
the assault at every stage, while in progress, through the repro- 
duction of a few of the telegrams passed between Generals Sher- 
man and Thomas. Sherman had nearly twenty miles of field 
telegraph wire stretched from position to position over the wide 
field at Kennesaw Mountain, and it took but a few minutes to 
apprise him of every move made in any quarter. Here is the 
telegraphic story of Thomas's attacks: 

Thomas (8 a. m. ) — "The movement of my troops against 
the enemy's works has commenced." 



Sherman (8.30) — "Everything moving well on this flank. 
Schofield reports the same. Push your troops with all the energy 
possible." 

Thomas (9.30) — "General Howard reports that he has ad- 
vanced and is doing well. I have not yet received report from 
Palmer." 



Sherman (9.50 a. m.) — "All well. Keep things moving." 

Thomas (10.45) — "Yours received. General Harker's brig- 
ade advanced to within twenty paces of the enemy's breast- 
works and was repulsed with canister at that range, General 
Harker losing an arm. General Wagner's brigade, of Newton's 
division, supporting General Harker, was so severely handled that 
it is compelled to reorganize. Colonel Mitchell's brigade of Davis's 
division, captured one line of rebel breast-works, which they still 
hold. McCook's brigade was also very severely handled, nearly 
everv colonel beine killed or wounded. Colonel McCook wound- 



318 Atlanta And Its Builders 

ed. It is compelled to fall back and reorganize. The troops are 
all too much exhausted to advance, but we hold all we have 
grained." 



Sherman (11.45 a - m — "McPherson's column reached 
near the top of the hill through very tangled brush, but was 
repulsed. It is found almost impossible to deploy, but they still 
hold the ground. I wish you to study well the position, and if it 
be possible to break the line, do it ; it is easier now than it will be 
hereafter. Hold fast all you make. I hear Leggett's guns well 
behind the mountain." 



Sherman (1.30 p. m.) — "McPherson and Schofield are at a 
dead-lock. Do you think you can carry any part of the enemy's 
line to-day? McPherson's men are up to the abatis and can't 
move without the direct assault. I will order the assault if you 
think you can succeed at any point. Schofield has one division 
close up on the Powder Springs road, and the other across 
Olley's Creek, about two miles to his right and rear." 



Thomas (1.40 p. m. ) — "Davis's two brigades are now with- 
in sixty yards of the enemy's two entrenchments. Davis reports 
that he does not think he can carry the works by assault on 
account of the steepness of the hill, but he can hold his position, 
put in one or two batteries to-night, and probably drive them out 
to-morrow morning. General Howard reports the same. Their 
works are from six to seven feet high and nine feet thick. In 
front of Howard they have a very strong abatis. Davis's loss in 
officers has been very heavy. Nearly all the field officers in 
McCook's brigade, with McCook, have been killed or wounded. 
From what the officers tell me I do not think we can carry the 
works by assault at this point to-day, but they can be approached 
by saps and the enemy driven out." 



Sherman (2.25) — ''Secure what advantageous ground you 
have gained ; but is there anything in the enemy's present position 
that if we should approach by saps would hinder him throwing up 
fresh parapet faster than we could reach him ?" 



Kennesaw Mountain 319 

Thomas (2.40) — "Your dispatch of 2.25 received. We 
still hold all the ground we have gained and the division com- 
manders report their ability to hold it. They also report the 
enemy's works exceedingly strong; in fact, so strong that they 
cannot be carried by assault except by immense sacrifice, even if 
they can be carried at all. I think, therefore, the best chance is 
to approach them by regular saps, and if we can find a favorable 
position to batter them down. We have already lost heavily 
to-day without gaining any material advantage ; one or two more 
such assaults would use up this army." 



Sherman (6.20) — "Schofield has gained the crossing of 
Olley's Creek on the Sandtown road ; the only advantage of the 
day. You may order all ground of value gained to-day to be 
secured, and prepare batteries in the manner proposed by Davis. 
I doubt if we can resort to regular approaches." 



Thomas (8.15) — "The assault on the enemy's works in my 
front was well arranged, and the officers and men went to their 
work with the greatest coolness and gallantry. The failure to 
carry them is due only to the strength of the works and to the 
fact that they were well manned, thereby enabling the enemy to 
hold them securely against assault. We have lost nearly 2,000 
officers and men, among them two brigade commanders. General 
Harker, commanding a brigade in Newton's division, and Col. 
Dan. McCook, commanding a brigade in Jeff. Davis's division, 
both reported to be mortally wounded, besides some 6 or 8 field 
officers killed. Both General Harker and Colonel McCook were 
wounded on the enemy's breatsworks, and all say had they not 
been wounded we would have driven the enemy from his works. 
Both Generals Howard and Palmer think that they can find 
favorable positions on their lines for placing batteries for enfilad- 
ing the enemy's works. We took between 90 and 100 prisoners." 



Sherman (8.40) — "Let your troops fortify as close up to the 
enemy as possible. Get good positions for artillery, and group 
your command as conveniently as you can by corps and divisions, 
keeping reserves. Schofield has the Sandtown road within 



320 Atlan'ta And Its Builders 

eleven miles of the Chattahoochee, and we could m< ive by that 
flank. The question of supplies will be the one. I regret be- 
yond measure the loss of two such young and dashing officers as 
Harker and Dan. McCook. McPherson lost 2 or 3 of his young 
and dashing officers, which is apt to be the case in unsuccessful 
assaults. Had we broken the line to-day it would have been most 
decisive, but as it is our loss is small, compared with some of those 
East. It should not in the least discourage us. At times assaults 
are necessary and inevitable. At Arkansas Post we succeeded; 
at Vicksburg we failed. I do not think our loss to-day greater 
than Johnston's when he attacked Hooker and Schofield the first 
day Ave occupied our present ground." 



Sherman (9 p. m.) — "Are you willing to risk the move on 
Fulton, cutting loose from our railroad? It would bring matters 
to a crisis, and Schofield has secured the way." 



Thomas (9.15) — "How far is Fulton from the crossing of 
Olley's Creek? Will we have to cross any other streams of much 
size? When do vou wish to start?" 



Sherman (9.30) — "According to Merrill's map, it is about 
ten miles. Nickajack the only stream to cross. Time for start- 
ing, dav after to-morrow." 



Thomas (9.40) — "What force do you think of moving* 
with ? If with the greater part of the army, I think it decidedly 
better than butting against breastworks twelve feet thick and 
strongly abatised." 



Sherman (9.45) — "If we move on Fulton, we must move 
with the whole army, leaving our railroad on the chance of suc- 
cess. Go where we may, we will find the breastworks and abatis, 
unless we move more rapidly than we have heretofore.' 7 



Sherman (9.50) — '"Will see you to-morrow. In meantime, 
make such preparations as you can." 



Kennesaw Mountain 321 

From the foregoing it will be seen that Sherman had decided 
to abandon his attack on Kennesaw almost while it was in pro- 
gress, and had determined to dodge Johnston — something he 
might have done with less hard experience. Upon the night of 
the 27th the corps commanders received orders to make imme- 
diate preparations for the move by the way Schofield had battered 
open, with ten days' supply of provisions and forage. They were 
enjoined to adopt every means in their power to move with celer- 
ity. Schofield's position w 7 as regarded as the key to the proposed 
movement to the Chattahoochee. He reported that the ground 
gained by General Cox overlooked the Nickajack valley and 
seemed to control the ridge between the two creeks, so that the 
enemy could not extend his line along that ridge without dis- 
placing Cox. Schofield wired that his position threatened the 
enemy's left rear and seemed to be more important than he had at 
first supposed. He added : "I think it should be held by my 
whole force, if you propose to operate in that direction." Sher- 
man ordered him to hold fast. 

The reports reaching Sherman from McPherson were no 
more encouraging than those sent by Thomas. Logan had lost 
some 500 officers and men, much in the manner of Thomas's 
losses, and his assaulting column, at the close of the day, was 
much in the situation of Thomas's. During the height of the as- 
sault, scores of men were carried to the rear wounded by stones 
thrown down from the Confederate works. 

For a pen-picture of the great battle, the reader cannot find 
a better one than the following, taken, with acknowledgments, 
from Joseph M. Brown's "Mountain Campaigns" : 

"The attempt upon the Confederate right, which lay east of 
Kennesaw Mountain, running across the Western and Atlantic 
Railroad, and north of the present station, Elizabeth, to the hills, 
some hundreds of yards beyond, was by Logan's corps, formed 
in three lines, and supported by Blair and Dodge, with their 
respective corps, a position which fronted the mountain also, and 
made strong demonstrations against it, accompanying them with 
heavy and constant firing. They fell upon Nelson's (Twelfth 
Louisiana) regiment, which occupied a strong line of rifle-pits, 
six hundred vards in front of the main entrenchments. These 



322 Atlanta And Its Builders 

held their ground, keeping up a hot fusillade until the first Fed- 
eral ranks had approached within twenty-five paces, and then 
hastily retired to the Confederate line of battle. 

"The Federal troops advanced steadily, and soon came 
within musket shot of Featherston's entire front. A 
destructive fire was here opened upon them from the 
entrenchments, which compelled a halt; but taking pos- 
session of the forest, amid the tangled undergrowth, 
they kept in return, a furious fire upon the Confed- 
erates. The batteries upon the mountain and those located along 
Featherston's lines poured forth a terrible storm of shot and 
shell upon their front and flanks. For almost an hour they game- 
ly held their position, unable to advance and reluctant to retreat ; 
but at length, having lost seven commanding officers of regiments 
and hundreds of men, some of them within thirty feet of the 
Confederate's principal works, Logan ordered his men to retire to 
the line of rifle-pits they had first captured. 

"During this same time an impetuous assault was made upon 
Wheeler's troops, and Ouarles's brigade of Whitehall's division, 
in front of and upon the mountain, in the shelter of rifle-pits. A 
body of Federals charged into Ouarles's rifle-pits, where most of 
them were killed or captured. Many of the Federals also were 
picked off by the Confederate skirmishers, firing from behind 
trees, rocks, etc., on the side of the mountain. These were scat- 
tered irregularly among the crags and forest growth below the 
Confederate breastworks, but high enough above the field to com- 
mand a full view over it and the Federal advance, which is said 
to have been made by a portion of Blair's corps. 

"Against the lesser Kennesaw there was a heavy demonstra- 
tion and hot fire maintained in front, and a vigorous charge was 
made upon the western end of the mountain, which was held by 
French's division. 

"The attack upon Cockrell's brigade, which occupied the 
extreme west of the ridge, on French's left, was very determined 
and impetuous — the Federal advance driving in the skirmishers, 
and pressing resolutely forward till within about twenty paces of 
the Confederate line; but here it was met by a cool steadiness 
which checked and finally repulsed it. This attempt was princi- 



Kennesaw Mountain 323 

pally by Howard's corps, under the cover of the concentration of 
about fifty field-pieces, which, bursting forth from battery to 
battery, were bombarding the Confederate position with terrible 
fury. The assailing columns likewise advanced rapidly from 
the west and dashed fiercely through the skirmishers on Walker's 
right, immediately south of the mountain, taking in reverse those 
on the right and left, while they were also being attacked in front. 
Within a few minutes about eighty of Walker's men, it is said, 
had been bayoneted or captured in their rifle-pits. 

"Walker's line was assaulted with great vigor; but here, in 
addition to the musketry fire from his front, the Federals were 
enfiladed by that of the Confederate batteries on Little Kennesaw, 
some of the guns which General French had rolled back and 
turned upon them. This tempest of bombshells, grape and can- 
ister, within a short time drove them back, and relieved Walker 
from this attack. 

"An exciting episode of the battle here occurred when a 
shrapnel shot, with a smoking fuse, passed under the headlog and 
fell among the men in the ditch. A stampede instantly com- 
menced, in the midst of which a Georgia sergeant leaped forward, 
seized the projectile and threw it out of the trenches, where the 
explosion did no harm. 

"But the most determined and powerful assault was made 
by Palmer's corps of the army of the Cumberland, with Hooker 
in reserve, and with such other support as could be spared, upon 
the entrenchments held by Cheatham's and Cleburne's divisions, 
which extended through the rolling country south of the moun- 
tain. The Federal troops, several lines deep, conscious of their 
very decided superiority in numbers, pressed forward with bay- 
onets glistening and banners waving, and with wild cheers, 
through the forest, which was badly tangled with undergrowth, 
until they came almost to the Confederate fortifications. 

"Here an appalling fire was opened upon them from all along 
the works, by Cleburne's troops particularly. They were permit- 
ted to approach within twenty paces before a gun was fired. Then 
there burst forth from beneath the headlogs a fearful sheet of 
flame and smoke, and at one or two points, almost the entire 
Federal column was prostrated by the volley. 



324 Atlanta And Its Builders 

''Succeeding this murderous sweep of death, there arose 
from behind the entrenchments a wild and piercing sound. It 
was the 'rebel yell.' Often, ere this, had it been heard on the 
fields of strife, but never before had it greeted the ears of those 
whom it now defied with more defiance than in this minute of 
horror and blood. Above the roar of battle clear and shrill, it 
rang out, and again, and yet again, was it re-echoed from the 
mountain crags back to the woody recesses of the plain. 

"Like an inspiration from the genii of ruin, it seemed to 
arouse those from whose throats it leaped forth, to more than 
mortal energy; and now, from ten thousand muskets, and from 
a score of cannon there poured forth an incessant blaze, which 
scattered carnage and death for hundreds of yards around. 

"This storm of missiles from the earthworks in front was so 
destructive that further advance was impossible. The ground 
and the forest were torn up by musket balls, grape and canister, 
solid shot and exploding shells. From French's batteries, on the 
crest of Kennesaw, also, a furious bombardment was directed 
upon them. So continuous and rapid was this that the mountain 
seemed literally on fire ; and the murky cloud of smoke enveloping 
its summit, and rising majestically against the heavens, combined 
with the tumultuous roar from their midst, presented in terrific 
grandeur the veritable appearance of a volcanic eruption, while 
the air above and around the assaulting columns was obscured 
by the puffs of smoke from the bursting shells, which hurled their 
fragments in a thousand directions among the Federal ranks, 
screaming through the forest, tore whole trees to pieces, scatter- 
ing the branches with swaths of destruction on every side. 

"The Federal troops, dreadfully scourged, lay down upon 
the ground, within range of the murderous musketry fire of their 
enemy, and sought all the shelter possible, in the meantime pour- 
ing back volley after volley in return ; and finally entrenched 
themselves, it being safer to remain than to flee. 

"Once, under General Harker's leadership, they attempted 
to renew the assault, but almost at the very parapet Harker fell, 
mortally wounded, and the whole line was swept back before the 
awful iron hail which was poured into their faces. At one or 
two points the charging columns pressed forward to the very 



Kennesazv Mountain 325 

ditches before the breast-works, and some of their dead were 
found against the works themselves. 

"The fall of General Harker was greatly deplored by officers 
and men alike. Gallant, generous and dashing, he had conspic- 
uously distinguished himself on every field of battle from Chicka- 
mauga to Kennesaw, inclusive; and of all the field officers in the 
Federal army, was probably more admired for plucky courage 
and more highly esteemed for genial, sociable, personal traits 
than any of his comrade leaders. 

"Just after the repulse of the second assault, the dry leaves, 
etc., in the forest before the Confederate intrenchments were set 
on fire by the bomb-shells and gun wadding, and began burning 
rapidly around the Federal wounded. This horrible scene was 
observed by the Confederates, who were orderd instantly to cease 
firing, and one of their commanders called to the Federals and 
stated as an act of humanity his men would suspend further battle 
until the assailants could carry off their wounded, who were in 
danger of being burned alive. The offer was accepted, and the 
Federal wounded were rescued from the awful fate which threat- 
ened them, and then the combat was renewed by the two sides 
with the most determined zeal." 

The report of Brigadier-General Morgan L. Smith, who led 
Logan's assaulting columns, is in part as follows : "In ac- 
cordance with General Logan's order, I withdrew my division 
from its position to the left of the mountain after dark on the 
night of the 26th instant, and massed it opposite the extreme right 
of the mountain and a hill, which is a continuation of the same, 
to the right. This hill was the objective point of the assault, and 
my division and Colonel Walcutt's brigade, of General Harrow's 
division, was designated as the assaulting column, and 8 a. m. of 
the 27th the hour to advance. General Lightburn, commanding 
Second Brigade, of about 2,000 muskets, was directed to form in 
two lines and assault through a little orchard, about 400 yards to 
the right of the hill, and to advance as soon as he heard a brisk 
fire on the left. General Giles A. Smith, commanding First 
Brigade, of about the same strength, was directed to move at the 
same time in two lines directly on the hill. Colonel Walcutt, 
commanding the brigade of General Harrow's division, of about 



326 Atlanta And Its Builders 

1,500 muskets, was directed to move directly for the gorge where 
the hill joins on to the mountain, lapping the mountain and left of 
the hill, feel into the gorge as far as possible, and capture the 
works in his front. As the enemy could not depress their artillery 
sufficiently to fire on him, he was ordered to advance first, and the 
opening of the enemy's fire upon him was the signal for the other 
two brigades to advance. The line moved about 8 o'clock. It 
advanced steadily, with a strong line of skirmishers, but owing 
to the extreme density of the underbrush it was impossible for 
skirmishers to keep in front of their lines. Found the enemy's 
line of rifle-pits about 400 yards from their main works, and 
killed or captured most of their skirmishers. After passing a 
deep, swampy ravine, the line fixed bayonets, advancing, moved 
steadily and rapidly for the enemy's works, amidst a shower of 
shot and shell. Officers and men fell thick and fast. In addition 
to the steepness of the ascent, trees had been felled and brush and 
rocks piled in such a manner as to make it impossible to advance 
with any regularity. Officers and men still pushed forward. Re- 
inforcements of the enemy were seen coming in from the right 
and left. Within about thirty feet of the enemy's main works the 
line staggered and sought cover as best they could behind logs 
and rocks. Some of the Fifty-fifth and One Hundred and Elev- 
enth Illinois, of General Giles A. Smith's brigade, fell on 
and inside the works. General Lightburn, on the right, 
pressed on through a swamp, where officers and men 
sank to their knees, and a very dense thicket, but on 
account of an enfilading fire, was unable to get nearer 
than 150 yards of the orchard and works beyond. He, 
however, by coming suddenly out of the thicket and swamp, 
killed and wounded quite a number of the enemy and captured 2 
officers and 36 men. 

"Colonel Barnhill, commanding Fortieth Illinois, of Colonel 
Walcutt's brigade, and [Captain] Augustin, Fifty-fifth Illinois, 
were killed on the hill near the enemy's works; Colonel Rice, 
Fifty-seventh Ohio, also wounded on the hill (leg amputated) ; 
Colonel Spooner. Eigthy-third Indiana, farther to the right of the 
hill, was wounded (arm amputated at the shoulder) ; Colonel 
Parry, Forty-seventh Ohio, severely in the leg." 



Kennesaw Mountain 2> 2 7 

General Smith placed his total casualties at 317. 

Brigadier-General Walcutt, who supported General Smith in 
the charge, says : "Orders emanating from headquarters Fif- 
teenth Army Corps were received on the night of the 26th, direct- 
ing me to report, with my brigade, to General Morgan L. Smith, 
whose division was to assault the enemy's works on the right of 
Little Kennesaw Mountain, and take part in the assault. By di- 
rection of General Smith, my brigade was placed on the left, and 
ordered to lead the assault, my column to assail the enemy's works 
commanding the gorge between the two mountains. At 7 a. m. 
on the 27th I moved to near the left of General Osterhaus, and 
formed my brigade in two lines, with the Forty-sixth Ohio 
(Spencer Rifles) deployed in two lines as skirmishers. At 8.15 
a. m. I sounded the 'advance.' A column never charged more 
gallantly or with greater determination. The enemy opened upon 
me at once with artillery from the mountain and a heavy mus- 
ketry fire from their skirmishers, who were strongly intrenched. 
The latter, however, were nearly all killed, wounded, or cap- 
tured. The main works of the enemy were found to be in a very 
formidable position on the crest of a gorge, having a steep ascent 
covered by a heavy abatis. After repeated attempts to reach the 
enemy's works had been made and failed, it being impossible to 
force our way through the tangled brush under so terrific a fire, 
the line was withdrawn and intrenched on the crest of the gorge 
opposite the one occupied by the enemy. In this assault the offi- 
cers and men behaved most gallantly, many nearly reached the 
enemy's works, but it was useless. A line never struggled harder 
to succeed, but it was not in human power. My loss was very 
severe: 246 killed and wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Barnhill, 
Fortieth Illinois, was killed at the head of his regiment. He was 
a brave and valuable officer, and died the true soldier. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Wright, One Hundred and Third Illinois, received a se- 
vere wound, which has since disabled him. His bravery was con- 
spicuous. I was relieved about 10 p. m. by troops from General 
Osterhaus, and returned to my former position." 

Polk's old corps, temporarily commanded by Major-General 
Loring, and Cheatham's and Cleburne's divisions of Hood's 
corps, bore the brunt of the battle of Kennesaw Mountain. The 



328 Atlanta And Its Builders 

divisions of French, Walthall and Featherston were in the imme- 
diate front of the line of assault. Brigadier-General Cockrell's 
Missourians were given the warmest employment in French's 
division. Of their experience that day General Cockrell said: 
"I have the honor to report that about 8 a. m. to-day a very heavy 
line of skirmishers, closely followed by two lines of battle, ad- 
vanced into the skirt of timber in front of the open field at the 
foot and south of Kennesaw Mountain, just south of the road 
leading from Marietta to General Johnston's old head- 
quarters, and drove in the extreme right of the line of skirmishers 
resting on the northwestern corner of said open field, and imme- 
diately began to press back the left flank of my skirmishers, which 
rested in the bottom just north of the road. All the reserves of 
my skirmish line were thrown out to protect my left flank, and 
the enemy's skirmishers were held in check until the lines of battle 
closely following closed in upon them. When this was done the 
enemy rapidly drove back my left and center, passing along the 
base of Kennesaw Mountain in front of my main line. The com- 
panies on the right of my skirmish line were holding the enemy 
in check in their immediate front, but the enemy advanced so 
rapidly against and in the rear of my left that before Lieutenant- 
Colonel Carter, commanding the skirmishers, ordered the right 
of the line to fall back the enemy had gained their rear and they 
were thus exposed to a double fire, and in falling back were com- 
pelled to pass through the enemy's lines, and many thus fell into 
their hands. 

"Lieut. Samuel Ross, a most gallant officer, and 41 men are 
now missing, many of whom are known to be either killed or 
wounded. My skirmishers fought very stubbornly and were 
pressed back up the gorge on the right, followed by the enemy at 
the distant of thirty to forty paces. The enemy appeared in 
force on the west edge of the open field on my left, but were 
quickly driven back into the woods by a few volleys from the left 
of my main line. They also appeared in force at the base of the 
mountain, in front of my left regiment, but were easily kept back 
in the woods. In front of Colonel McCown's regiment, the sec- 
ond from my left, they made an assault in force and succeeded in 
getting within twenty-five paces of the works, and by secreting 



Kennesaw Mountain 329 

themselves behind rocks and other shelter held this position for 
fifteen or twenty minutes, and were distinctly heard by my officers 
in the main line to give the command 'fix bayonets.' They ad- 
vanced up the gorge along the line as far as my right, and suc- 
ceeded in gaining the spur of the main mountain in front of my 
right and on General Sears's left at a point higher up than my 
main line, and for some time had a plunging fire on my works. 
All attempts on my line were handsomely repulsed with loss to 
them. 

"The bodies of 1 lieutenant-colonel, 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 
and some 30 soldiers of the enemy were left dead in my front, 
and so close to my lines that they could not be carried off. A 
number of their wounded also fell into our hands, and 1 or 2 
prisoners. 

"My loss in the engagement to-day has been 10 killed, 2 
mortally wounded, 27 severely, 28 slightly, and 42 missing, as 
before stated, making an aggregate of 109. Lieut. A. D. Man- 
ning, a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a 
most exemplary Christian, is among the killed. Nine of the 
killed and 27 of the wounded belong to Colonel McCown's regi- 
ment, where the heaviest assault was made." 

Major-General "Walthall reported: "The division occupied 
a position in the line with its right resting on the Marietta and 
Big Shanty road, extending to the left up the Big Kennesaw 
Mountain and down its western declivity into the gorge between 
it and the Little Kennesaw, with the brigades in the following 
order from right to left : Ouarles's, Cantey's, Reynolds's, the 
first commanded by Brig.-Gen. William A. Quarles, the second 
by Col. E. A. O'Neal, and the last by Brig.-Gen. D. H. Reynolds. 
About 9 a. m., while I was proceeding to the top of the Big Ken- 
nesaw Mountain, accompanied by General Quarles and two of my 
staff, the enemy commenced quite a brisk cannonade across the 
eastern slope and top of the mountain, which continuing some 
hour or more, he commenced an advance of his infantry in my 
front. From the rugged character of the ground and the thick- 
ness of the undergrowth in front of my skirmish line, much of 
which runs along a bench of the mountain, the alignment of the 
enemy was so broken on reaching it that it was impossible to 



S3 Atlanta And Its Builders 

decide clearly whether he advanced with a line of battle or only 
with a very thick line of skirmishers strongly supported, except 
in front of General Quarles's brigade, where from the top of the 
mountain a line of battle of the enemy was clearly seen to ap- 
proach. This fact, coupled with the double cross-fire from the 
right and left of his regiment, deployed as skirmishers, directed 
against the enemy, may explain the greater loss supposed to have 
been inflicted upon the enemy at this point than elsewhere. The 
firing from commands both to my right and left could be distinct- 
ly heard from the top of the mountain and indicated a very gen- 
eral advance. Between n and 12 o'clock a report was made to 
me that a portion of General Reynolds's skirmish line had given 
back. I immediately ordered General Reynolds to re-establish it 
unless a line of battle of the enemy should be occupying it or 
intervening between him and it. General Reynolds reported to 
me in less than an hour that his line had been restored without 
loss or difficulty. 

"The loss of Major Noles, of the (Twenty-fifth) Arkansas 
Regiment, a gallant and useful officer, in command of General 
Reynolds's skirmish line, occurred at the time of the falling back 
of a portion of it. 

"The lines of General Ouarles and Colonel O'Neal were 
assaulted at the same time, but held their ground firmly, inflicting 
a heavy loss on the enemy without sustaining a corresponding 
loss. General Reynolds estimates the enemy's loss in his front 
at 50 killed and wounded. 

"Maj. S. L. Knox, commanding the First Alabama Regi- 
ment on skirmish line in front of Quarles's brigade, a fine officer 
and veteran regiment, reports that the enemy came within thirty 
yards of his line at almost all points, and that some 28 got into 
our pits, of whom 16, including Capt. H. B. Wakefield, Fifty- 
third Indiana, were captured. The rest, seeing that it was only a 
skirmish line into which they had run, sought safety in flight, but 
were mostly killed or wounded. 

"Major Knox estimates the enemy's loss at 300 killed and 
wounded. Colonel O'Neil reports the enemy's supposed loss in 
his front at 30 killed and wounded. For fuller particulars refer- 
ence is made to the reports of brigade and regimental command- 
ers, herewith forwarded." 



Kennesaw Mountain 331 

General Featherston reported : ''The division formed a line 
of battle running in a northeastern direction from the Big Shanty 
and Marietta road, at the base of Kennesaw Mountain, to a point 
between the Bell's Ferry and Canton roads, and were posted as 
follows : Scott's brigade on the right, Featherston's in the cen- 
ter, and Adams's on the left. Each brigade had some 600 yards 
in its front on the skirmish line one full regiment, making in the 
aggregate about 1,100 or 1,200 men in front of the division. 
About 10 a. m. the enemy advanced in force against the skir- 
mishers of General Scott, on the Bell's Ferry road. They came 
in one line of skirmishers and three lines of battle. 
Our whole skirmish line as well intrenched and Gen- 
eral Scott's skirmish regiment (Twelfth Louisiana, under 
command of General Nelson) held their position against 
this overwhelming force until the enemy had advanced 
to within twenty-five or thirty yards of their rifle-pits. 
They poured into the advancing columns repeated volleys of 
minie-balls. which thinned their ranks and caused them to falter, 
but did not check them. In this advance the enemy sustained a 
heavy loss. Colonel Nelson finally withdrew his regiment and 
fell back to the main line of battle in good order. This regiment 
not only did good service in inflicting heavy loss upon the enemy, 
but displayed great coolness, courage and determination during 
the entire engagement. The skirmish line having been driven 
in, and the enemy having advanced to within 250 or 300 yards 
of our main line of works, a concentrated converging fire was 
directed upon their position by our artillery. Cowan's and 
Bouanchaud's batteries, of Major Myrick's battalion, and 
Davis's, of Colonel Hallonquist's regiment, and one of Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Robertson's batteries, of General Wheeler's com- 
mand, poured into the enemy for the space of one hour a most 
galling and destructive fire. The artillery was ably and skill- 
fully served, and so terrible was the fire and severe its results that 
the enemy retired before it, leaving some of their dead upon the 
field unburied and hastily burying others. The advance of the 
enemy in force and in three lines of battle was evidently made 
with the intent and for the purpose of attacking our forces in the 
main line of battle. At the same time this advance was made 



332 Atlanta And Its Builders 

on General Scott's front the enemy also made their appearance 
with infantry and artillery in front of General Wheeler's com- 
mand, on the right of this division. General Scott's skirmishers 
resumed their original position in front of the brigade after the 
firing of the artillery had ceased, about 4 p. m. At the same 
time the enemy advanced upon General Scott's skirmish line 
three of his regiments made their appearance in front of the line 
of skirmishers of Featherston's brigade. His line of skir- 
mishers was composed of the First Mississippi Battalion of 
Sharpshooters, commanded by Major Stigler, and the Third 
Mississippi Regiment, Major Dyer commanding. The three 
regiments of the enemy made their appearance upon the right of 
the line, passing through a field and going in the direction of the 
Bell's Ferry road. They came within easy range of Stigler' s 
battalion, when a destructive fire was poured into them, which 
caused them to fall back and oblique to the right, bearing from 
the field several of their dead and wounded. 

"The line of skirmishers before this brigade held their posi- 
tion during the day, except on the right, where they were ordered 
to fall back some distance to guard against a flank movement by 
the enemy after Scott's pickets had been driven in. 

"About 4 p. m. the enemy advanced upon this line of skir- 
mishers on the left and center with a heavy line to within sixty 
yards of our line. They were met by a galling fire in their ad- 
vance until they were repulsed in great confusion. Their loss 
is supposed to be very heavy, as they had no protection except 
the undergrowth. A brisk fire was kept up on this line during 
the evening, and both the battalion and Third Mississippi Regi- 
ment acted with great coolness, courage and determination. 

"The skirmish line of Brigadier-General Adams consisted 
of the Sixth Mississippi Regiment, under the command of Col. 
Robert Lowry. About 8 a. m. the enemy charged upon the ex- 
treme left of his line, and at the same time advanced upon the 
line of General Quarles. which connected with that of General 
Adams on his left. The enemy was handsomely repulsed on the 
left of General Adams's skirmish line, and from the position our 
line held it was enabled to cross-fire with two companies upon the 
enemy moving upon General Quarles. Major Borden, who com- 



Kennesaw Mountain 333 

manded on the left of Colonel Lowry's regiment, reports that he 
thinks he drove in some 15 or 20 of the enemy to General 
Quarles's line, where they surrendered. It appeared that after 
getting to a certain distance in General Quarles's line they 
were unable to get back, because of the heavy cross- 
fire of the two left companies. They made an effort, were 
driven back, and then surrendered. About 10 a. m. the enemy 
made a charge on Colonel Lowry with a heavy, close line of skir- 
mishers, supported by a strong reserve immediately in rear. They 
charged rapidly, shouting, etc., and were permitted to get in 
about 150 paces, when a heavy fire was opened upon them and 
kept up until they got in some seventy yards of the skirmish line, 
where they wavered, broke, and fled in much confusion. In this 
advance, as well as retreat, they received a severe punishment. 
Two officrs were seen to fall, and many privates. This regi- 
ment acted with great coolness, courage and determination dur- 
ing the engagement. 

"Our whole loss during the engagement was 5 killed and 14 
wounded; that of the enemy could not have fallen short of sev- 
eral hundred. 

"The action of the artillery was not only highly beneficial to 
us in its results, but very creditable to the batteries — both officers 
and men. The infantry of the entire division engaged in the 
affair could not have behaved better — both officers and men. A 
heavy fire from the enemy's artillery in our front was directed at 
our lines during the evening, but, fortunately, without effect, the 
shot and shell passing a considerable distance beyond our lines." 

Sherman sent the following account of the day's events to 
Washington : "Pursuant to my orders of the 24th, a diversion 
was made on each flank of the enemy, especially on the Sandtown 
road, and at 8 a. m. General McPherson attacked at the south- 
west end of Kenesaw, and General Thomas at a point about a 
mile farther south. At the same time the skirmishers and artil- 
lery along the whole line kept up a sharp fire. Neither attack 
succeeded, though both columns reached the enemy's works, 
which were very strong. General McPherson reports his loss 
about 500, and General Thomas about 2,000; the loss particu- 
larly heavy in general and field officers. General Harker is re- 



334 Atlanta And Its Builders 

ported mortally wounded, also Col. Dan. McCook, commanding" 
a brigade; Colonel Rice, Fifty-seventh Ohio, very seriously. 
Colonel Barnhill, Fortieth Illinois, and Captain Augustin, Fifty- 
fifth Illinois, are killed. The facility with which defensive works 
of timber and earth are constructed gives the party on the defens- 
ive great advantage. I cannot well turn the position of the 
enemy without abandoning my railroad, and we are already so 
far from our supplies that it is as much as the road can do to feed 
and supply the army. There are no supplies of any kind here. 
I can press Johnston and keep him from reinforcing Lee, but to 
assault him in position will cost us more lives than we can spare. 
McPherson took to-day ioo prisoners, and Thomas about as 
many, but I do not suppose we inflicted heavy loss on the enemy, 
as he kept close behind his parapets." 

Later Sherman modified his statement of the loss at Kenne- 
saw Mountain and outlined his future plans, as follows : "Our 
loss on the 27th will not exceed 1,500. As usual, the first re- 
ports were overstated. General Harker is dead. The wounded 
are doing well and most are already sent to the rear in cars. Some 
few of the dead and wounded were left in the enemy's hands close 
to the parapet. I am accumulating stores that will enable me 
to cut loose from the railroad for a time and avoid the Kennesaw 
Hill, which gives the enemy too much advantage. I will aim 
to get to the railroad below Marietta by a circuit or actually reach 
the Chattahoochee. Our right flank is now on the Sandtown 
road below Olley's Creek." 

On the evening of the 27th General Johnston sent this mes- 
sage to Richmond : "The enemy advanced upon our whole line 
to-day. They assaulted French, Cheatham, Cleburne, Steven- 
son, and Ouarles, by whom they were repulsed. On the rest of the 
line the skirmishing was severe. Their loss is supposed to be 
great; ours known to be small." 

Contrary to public expectations, the battle was not renewed 
next day. Sherman contented himself with holding the ground 
he had gained at such a sacrifice, and which could be of no serv- 
ice to him other than to hold Johnston in position until the bulk 
of the Federal army could be quietly withdrawn down Olley's 
Creek valley. There was continuous skirmishing on the 28th, 



Kennesaw Mountain 335 

but that was all. The Federal movement by the right flank 
could not take place for several days, for want of supplies and 
forage. While the two armies lay on their arms, confronting 
each other menacingly, scurvy was dangerously prevalent, and a 
cry went up for greens and vegetables. Johnston complained to 
Bragg that he was losing three or four hundred men every day 
from sickness caused by the continual rains and dry diet. At 
midnight on the 29th the Confederates attacked the Union works 
at a point in their front where the lines were but eighty yards 
apart, but were compelled to return to their parapet. The loss 
was small. 



CHAPTER XXV 

DOWN TO THE CHATTAHOOCHEE 

There has been much dispute concerning the extent of the 
Federal loss at Kennesaw Mountain. Even Sherman contra- 
dicts himself, somewhat. After the battle he declared that 2,000 
would cover his losses, from all causes, and in his Century paper, 
written years after the war, he says : " but we 

failed, losing 3,000 men, to the Confederate loss of 630." Gen- 
eral Johnston always declared that the Federal loss had been con- 
cealed and understated by design. In his Century paper, reply- 
ing to Sherman, he says : "Such statements of losses are incredi- 
ble. The Northern troops fought very bravely, as usual. Many 
fell against our parapets, some were killed in our trenches. Most 
of this battle of two hours and a half was at very short range. It 
is not to be believed that Southern veterans struck but 3 per cent, 
of Thomas's troops in mass at short range, or 1 2-3 per cent, of 
McPherson's — and, still less so, that Northern soldiers, injured 
in battle, should have been defeated in losses so trifling as never 
to have discouraged the meanest soldiers on record. I have 
seen American soldiers (Northern men) win a field with losses 
ten times greater, proportionately. But, argument apart, there 
is a witness against the estimates of Northern losses in this cam- 
paign, in the 10,126 graves in the military cemetery at Marietta, 
of soldiers killed south of the Etowah. Moreover, the Federal 
dead nearest to Hardee's line lay there two days, during which 
they were frequently counted — at least 1,000; and as there were 
seven lines within some 300 yards, exposed two hours and a half 
to the musketry of two divisions and the canister-shot of 32 field- 
pieces, there must have been many uncounted dead. The counted 
would alone indicate a loss of at least 6,000." 

Johnston continued to urge upon General Bragg the su- 
preme importance of getting a strong force of cavalry in Sher- 

336 



Doivn To The Chattahoochee 337 

man's rear. While his guns at Kennesaw were still hot, he sent 
this review of his campaign and recommendations pertaining to 
his present situation, to Richmond : "I have endeavored by my 
telegrams to keep you informed of the course of military events 
in this department. I have not been able, however, in that brief 
style of correspondence to explain the mode of operating by 
which we have been pressed back so gradually but continually. I 
informed the Government, through Brigadier-General Pendleton, 
that Sherman's army was more than double that under my com- 
mand. I could not prevent such superior forces from turning 
the position at Dalton, under cover of Rocky Face Ridge, by 
Snake Creek Gap ; so that Dalton was necessarily abandoned. 
The intrenched position of the enemy before Resaca also threat- 
ened our communications. The attempt to hold that place would 
have compromised the army. It was, therefore, abandoned also. 
In falling back from that point I intended to take advantage of 
the first good position to give battle, but hitherto an advantage- 
ous opportunity was not presented. By his engineering opera- 
tions, rendered easy by superior numbers and the character of the 
country, which is densely wooded, the enemy has pressed us back 
to a position the right of which is about two miles north of Mari- 
etta. The left was at first due west from the town, the extent 
of the line being five miles. The usual gradual extension of the 
enemy's intrenched line to his right southwardly has compelled 
us to lengthen ours on the same side at least three miles. 

"Since May 7 in almost daily skirmishes and the attacks 
upon different points of our lines (which have been reported to 
you by telegraph), we have lost about 9,000 men in killed and 
wounded. Long and cold, wet weather, which ended five days 
ago, produced a great deal of sickness. Our superior officers 
think that we have inflicted a loss on the enemy treble our own, as 
our men have almost always fought under cover or under favor- 
able circumstances. The Federal army has received no other re- 
inforcements, I believe, than Blair's troops, estimated at from 
5,000 to 7,000, and garrison and bridge guards relieved by 100- 
days' men. 

"I have been unable so far to stop the enemy's progress by 
gradual approaches on account of his numerous army and the 



338 Atlanta And Its Builders 

character of the country, which is favorable to that method. Our 
best mode of operating against it would be to use strong parties 
of cavalry to cut his railroad communications. Our own cavalry 
is so weak compared with that of the Federal army that I have 
been unable to do it. If you can employ cavalry in that way 
quickly great benefit must result from it — probably Sherman's 
speedy discomfiture." 

Bragg replied that he had no cavalry in East Tennessee, and 
that in Mississippi was fully occupied by the enemy in superior 
force. He stated that the Fourth Georgia cavalry had been 
ordered to join Johnston, from near Savannah, and declared there 
was no other force available. There was much correspondence 
between Johnston and the war department regarding the matter 
of reinforcements and cavalry support in the rear, and it is prob- 
able that the differences of opinion, then manifested, were the 
inception of the disagreement that a fortnight later resulted in 
the deposition of Johnston from the command of the Army of 
the Tennessee. In this connection, it is interesting to examine 
the effective strength of Johnston's army at this time. The fol- 
lowing note of General Bragg to President Davis throws much 
light on the situation : 

Hdqrs. Armies of the Confederate States, 

Richmond, June 29, 1864. 
His Excellency the President : 

Mr. President : I return you the dispatch of Governor 
Brown. Every available man. subject to my control, has been 
sent to General Johnston, and he has retained several commands 
deemed absolutely necessary elsewhere, after receiving orders to 
move them. No doubt he is outnumbered by the enemy, as we 
are everywhere, but the disparity is much less than it has ever 
been between those two armies. Morgan is not available for any 
service, being beyond our lines and not within communication. 
General Lee in Mississippi, where Forrest is serving, is in pro- 
portion to the enemy confronting him much weaker than General 
Johnston, and needs his troops now with Johnston more than the 
latter can need Forrest. 

General Johnston's last return, 10th of June, shows 45,282 
infantry, 12,231 cavalry. 4.259 artillery; total, 61,772 effectives. 



Down To The Chattahoochee 339 

The rolls show eleven brigades of cavalry, aggregate 27,390, 
though with only 12,231 effective total. General Johnston's re- 
turn shows an aggregate present and absent, 137,931. Besides 
the army in the field General Johnston has at Atlanta a support- 
ing force of reserves and militia, estimated at from 7,000 to 
10,000 effective men. I see no way in which he can be reinforced, 
and he has been informed so several times. Certainly not from 
Mississippi, where it would be more proper to return a part of 
what he has received than to remove more. 

I am, sir, very respectively, etc., 

Braxton Bragg. 
P. S. — From the above estimate I accidentally omitted two 
additional regiments of Georgia cavalry recently ordered to Gen- 
eral Johnston, one of which has already joined him and the other 
en route, making jointly 1,500 effectives. These have not yet 
been taken up on the return. B. B. 

The only safe course left for Sherman to pursue was the one 
he had so quickly decided on, viz., to send his left army, under 
McPherson, to follow up the right, under Schofield, across Olley's 
Creek, and force his cavalry to Sandtown and the Chattahoochee, 
far below Johnston. In the meantime, Johnston was not asleep. 
Thomas's presence in his front did not decoy him into keeping 
behind his intrenchments on the field of Kennesaw Mountain. 
His admirable foresight had anticipated Sherman's next move, 
and he attempted to forsestall it. There was never a more provi- 
dent commander. Schofield's successes had given Johnston his 
cue. His scouts reported McPherson starting, which was the 
sign for the abandonment of Kennesaw Mountain. At fair day- 
light on the morning of July 3d, Sherman turned his field-glass 
upon the summits of the two Kennesaws and saw his pickets 
"crawling up the hill cautiously." Johnston's strong works were 
reported deserted. Johnston thus explained this, almost his last, 
move in the famous Atlanta campaign : "As the extension of the 
Federal intrenched line to their right had brought it nearer to 
Atlanta than was our left, and had made our position otherwise 
very dangerous, two new positions for the army were chosen, 
one nine or ten miles south of Marietta, and the other on the high 



34° Atlanta And Its Builders 

ground near the Chattahoochee. Colonel Presstman was desired 
to prepare the first for occupation, and Brigadier-General Shoup, 
commander of the artillery, was instructed to strengthen the 
other with a line of redoubts devised by himself.'' On the morn- 
ing of the 3d, while the Federals were reconnoitering the heights 
of Kennesaw, the Confederates were settling down behind their 
new works south of Marietta, near Smyrna Camp Ground. At 
the same time General Logan's command marched into Marietta, 
capturing 200 prisoners on the road. The Twenty-fifth Iowa 
regiment was left as a provost guard in the town when the army 
moved on. The next day, the Fourth of July, it is said that the 
national salute fired by Sherman's guns in honor of the day, was 
heard with emotions that can be imagined, by the citizens of At- 
lanta. 

Thomas followed at once, as soon as he knew positively that 
Johnston had fallen back, and on the 3d Howard's division skir- 
mished at every step almost up to the Smyrna works. At this 
point a little anecdote told by General Howard is highly interest- 
ing. "The next day Sherman paid us a Fourth of July visit," 
said General Howard. "He could not at first believe that John- 
ston would make another stand north of the river. 'Howard,' he 
•id to me, 'you are mistaken; there is no force in your front; 
they are laughing at you !' We were in a thinnish grove of tall 
trees, in front of a farm house. 'Well, General,' I replied, 'let us 
see.' I called Stanley, whose division held the front. 'General, 
double your skirmishers and press them.' At once it was done. 
The lines sped forward, capturing the outlying pits of the enemy, 
and took many prisoners ; but a sheet of lead instantly came from 
the hidden works in the edge of the wood beyond us, and several 
unseen batteries hurled their shot across our lines, some of them 
reaching our grove and forcing us to retire. Sherman, as he 
rode away, said that I had been correct in my report." 

After the battle of Kennesaw Mountain the state militia be- 
gan to figure in the military operations at the front. The fol- 
lowing order was sent Major-General G. W. Smith, commanding 
the Georgia troops at Atlanta, just after the great battle: "Gen- 
eral Johnston wishes that you would concentrate at some con- 
venient point (say Turner's Ferry) as large an infantry force as 



Dozen To The Chattahoochee 341 

can be gathered in your command, with a battery, at short notice 
(leaving some force at the railroad bridge), and cross the river, 
moving up so as to place yourself in communication with Briga- 
dier-General Jackson. The object is to show an infantry force in 
connection with Jackson's cavalry as a demonstration calculated 
to deter the enemy from any further attempt to extend his right 
flank toward the river. It is not intended nor desired that your 
troops should become engaged, but simply threaten the right and 
rear of the enemy without losing your direct communication with 
the river between Turner's Ferry and Sandtown." The cavalry 
of the Confederate left was well supported by General Smith, in 
acordance with the foregoing order. 

About this time the Confederates changed their signal code, 
which for weeks had been interpreted by the Federals. The fact 
that the enemy was reading his signals was made known to John- 
ston by a correspondent of the New York Herald, through his 
correspondence in that paper. This was an important secret, be- 
trayed in a very thoughtless manner, and when Sherman learned 
of the newspaper man's mischievous work he was greatly in- 
censed. Thomas first saw the correspondence containing the dis- 
closure of the important secret and sent a copy of the paper con- 
taining the same to Sherman, with the recommendation that the 
correspondent, by name DeB. Randolph Keim, be at once exe- 
cuted as a spy. The man was arrested at the headquarters of the 
Army of the Tennessee, and upon Sherman's orders, turned over 
to General Thomas, of the Army of the Cumberland, with the 
suggestion that he (Thomas) carry out his original recommenda- 
tion. Keim had a narrow escape from being shot as a spy. But 
Thomas weakened when the responsibility was placed directly 
upon himself. Fie banished Keim North, and in explanation of 
his leniency said : "He (Keim) appears to be an honest looking 
man, and as he has not been with my army, I will have him sent 
north of the Ohio river, with orders not to return to this army 
during the war." 

While the Union army was lying in position around Ma- 
rietta, reports came from north of the Etowah that torpedoes 
were being used by the small bands of Confederate raiders on 
Sherman's line of communication, some cars and a section of the 



34 2 Atlanta And Its Builders 

railroad track having been destroyed by that means. Sherman's 
orders in the premises were certainly drastic. To Major-Gen- 
eraJ J. B. Steedman, at Chattanooga, commanding the District 
of the Etowah, he sent these instructions : 

"As the question may arise, and you have a right to the sup- 
port of my authority, I now decide that the use of the torpedo is 
justifiable in war in advance of an army, so as to make his ad- 
vance up a river or over a road more dangerous and difficult. But 
after the adversary has gained the country by fair warlike means, 
then the case entirely changes. The use of torpedoes in blowing 
up our cars and the road after they are in our possession, is simply 
malicious. It cannot alter the great problem, but simply makes 
trouble. Now, if torpedoes are found in the possession of an 
enemy to our rear, you may cause them to be put on the ground 
and tested by wagon-loads of prisoners, or, if need be, citizens 
implicated in their use. In like manner, if a torpedo is suspected 
on any part of the road, order the point to be tested by a carload 
of prisoners, or citizens implicated, drawn by a long rope. Of 
course an enemy cannot complain of his own traps." 

Johnston had now despaired of Richmond accepting his 
recommendations regarding a movement in force against Sher- 
man's rear with cavalry, and was preparing for a grand stand at 
Atlanta, which he had fortified for a determined siege. That 
Johnston's views were shared by many able men in Georgia is 
certain. Howell Cobb, while in Athens early in July for the pur- 
pose of organizing a local defense force, wrote to the Confederate 
secretary of war, Hon. James A. Seddon : 

"Allow me, in this unofficial letter, to express to you an opin- 
ion which I feel so strongly that I desire to express it to yourself 
and the President. While I know too little of the condition of our 
different armies in the field to express an opinion worthy of much 
consideration, yet there is a conviction upon my mind so strong 
and overwhelming that I cannot throw it oft", that the defense 
of Atlanta and Georgia, and the certain defeat and destruction of 
Sherman's army, are involved in some movement to be made by 
Forrest (if possible) or some other cavalry on Sherman's line of 
communication. Unless it is done, I see no end to the slow process 
of Sherman's advance through Georgia. If his communication 



Down To The Chattahoochee 343 

was cut for ten clays his army would be destroyed, and Georgia, 
as well as Alabama and Mississippi, saved, and Tennessee re- 
covered. To effect such a result could we not afford to uncover 
for a short time the country protected by Forrest? It does seem 
to me that the object to be accomplished makes the proposition 
worthy of consideration. It is proper 1 should say that our peo- 
ple are in the best spirits, hopeful and confident. They have the 
utmost confidence in General Johnston, which has not been shaken 
by his falling back, and they believe that the President will do all 
that any man can do. I trust you will pardon the liberty I take 
in making these suggestions, and be assured that I only do so 
because I feel a conviction that impresses me with the idea that 
it is the only certain solution of the present impending danger." 
Johnston remained but two days in his defenses at Smyrna 
Camp Ground. Sherman's plans did not contemplate a general 
engagement north of the Chattahoochee, and it was soon evident 
that he meant to give his adversary a wide berth, crossing the 
river before serious opposition could be interposed. Enough 
force was kept in Johnston's front, however, to attempt to cover 
the real movement, and the artillery was never silent. The great- 
est activity was among the cavalry. Hostile troops, scattered 
over a wide scope of country, came constantly in collision. In the 
afternoon of the 4th, Brigadier-General Ross, of Jackson's divi- 
sion of cavalry, reported that his command had repulsed a heavy 
column of Federal infantry, at least one brigade, nearly capturing 
a battery. From every road leading to the river came reports of 
the enemy's resistless advance. General Wheeler was ordered 
to find the enemy's left and what force confronted the Smyrna 
works. It was a critical time, fraught with fatal possibilities, but 
the Confederate army was kept well in hand by its cautious com- 
mander. Satisfied that Sherman was not advancing to attack 
him, but pushing his way to the Chattahoochee, Johnston, on the 
morning of the 5th, fell back to his strong line of intrenchments 
on the immediate river bank, and from that position wired Rich- 
mond : "In consequence of the enemy's advance toward the river 
below our left we this morning took this position, which is 
slightly intrenched. A division of cavalry on the southeast side of 
the river is guarding the ferries below. The gallant Brigadier- 



344 Atlanta And Its Builders 

General Vaughan lost his left foot yesterday by a shell. We 
greatly need the general officers asked for." 

To this dispatch President Davis replied : "The announce- 
ment that your army has fallen back to the Chattahoochee renders 
me more apprehensive for the future. That river, if not fordable, 
should not be immediately in your rear, and if you cross, it will 
enable the enemy without danger to send a detachment to cut your 
communications with Alabama, and, in the absence of the troops 
of that department, to capture the cities, destroy the mines and 
manufactories, and separate the States by a new line of occupa- 
tion. At this distance I cannot judge of your condition or the 
best method of averting calamity. Hopeful of results in Northern 
Georgia, other places have been stripped to reinforce your army 
until we are unable to make further additions, and are dependent 
on your success. Efforts have been made and are still making 
to organize the reserves as an auxiliary force for State defense. 
You well know what progress has been made in Georgia and Ala- 
bama." 

General Johnston's answer to this message of the Confed- 
eracy's chief executive was forwarded on the 8th, the day before 
his army crossed the Chattahoochee, as follows : 

"I have received your dispatch of yesterday. Our falling 
back was slow. Every change of position has been reported to 
General Bragg. We have been forced back by the operations of 
a siege, which the enemy's extreme caution and greatly superior 
numbers have made me unable to prevent. I have found no 
opportunity for battle except by attacking intrenchments. It is 
supposed in the army that Sherman's immediate object is the 
capture of Atlanta. A part of our troops is on the north side of 
the river intrenched, and, having six bridges behind it, so that we 
do not think it exposed. It is believed here that there are 16,000 
cavalry for defense of Mississippi and Alabama, and, therefore, 
that the enemy cannot make a detachment able to invade that 
department. Might not 4,000 of this cavalry prevent the danger 
by breaking up the railroad between the enemy and Dalton, thus 
compelling Sherman to withdraw?" 

Before he crossed the river, General Johnston took occasion 
to pay high compliments to the state militia in a letter addressed 



Down To The Chattahoochee 345 

to Governor Brown, in which he said: "According to all ac- 
counts their conduct in the presence of the enemy was firm and 
creditable. Such Federal parties as approached the crossing- 
places of the Chattahoochee guarded by them have been driven 
back. These proofs of their valor make me anxious that their 
number be increased. Is it possible? You know that the dis- 
tinguished officer at their head is competent to high command." 

Sherman's move was a bold one, but not attended with as 
much risk as would appear on the surface, taking into considera- 
tion his superior force, its wonderful equipment, and esprit de 
corps. Kennesaw had not even left a solemn impression on his 
army. Despite the heavy loss there, and the fact that the enemy 
was not dislodged or appreciably weakened, the Union soldiers 
regarded the victory as theirs and turned their faces to the Chat- 
tahoochee with exultation. In leaving Marietta Sherman de- 
liberately cut loose from his long line of railroad communication 
with his base at Chattanooga, taking with him only ten days' 
supplies in wagons. This act in itself indicates his supreme 
confidence of his superiority over Johnston, or of his certainty of 
being able to crowd his enemy across the river. It must not be 
inferred that Sherman was bent on crossing the Chattahoochee 
without regard to the fate of his railroad. He had left it strong- 
ly defended from Allatoona north, and he took good care to see 
that Johnston himself did not undertake a grand flanking move- 
ment, by crowding him hard at every point. He declared he was 
literally pushing Johnston across the river, and at the same time 
preventing interference with the passage of the Federal army. 
It was his hope that he could compel Johnston to cross in great 
confusion. A clear idea of his intentions can be gathered from 
the following note to Thomas, written on the night of July 3d : 

"The more I reflect the more I know Johnston's halt is to 
to save time to cross his material and men. No general, such as 
he, would invite battle with the Chattahoochee behind him. I 
have ordered McPherson and Schofield to cross Nickajack at any 
cost and work night and day to get the enemy started in confu- 
sion toward his bridges. I know you appreciate the situation. 
We will never have such a chance again, and I want you to im- 
press on Hooker, Howard, and Palmer the importance of the 



346 Atlanta And Its Builders 

most intense energy of attack to-night and in the morning and 
to press with vehemence at any cost of life and material. Every 
inch of his line should be felt and the moment there is a give, 
pursuit should be made — by day with lines, but by night with a 
single head of column and section of artillery to each corps fol- 
lowing a road. Hooker should communicate with McPherson 
by a circuit if necessary and act in concert. You know what loss 
would ensue to Johnston if he crosses his bridges at night in 
confusion with artillery thundering at random in his rear. I 
have reason to know that if our head of column had marched for 
Ruff's instead of Marietta we would have cut off 2,000 men and 
300 wagons. But still we have now the best chance ever offered, 
of a large army fighting at a disadvantage with a river to his 
rear. Send copies of this to Hooker, Palmer, and Howard. I 
have instructed Schofield, McPherson and Garrard." 

On the 4th of July there were skirmishes at Ruff's Mill, Neal 
Dow Station and Rottenwood Creek that approached the propor- 
tions of engagements. Stoneman made a dash across the Chat- 
tahoochee near Campbellton, and Garrard was ordered to Ros- 
well to capture the place. The Federal troops and trains thronged 
the Sandtown road, and every road leading to the river on each 
side of the position held by the Confederate army was being- 
explored by strong advance columns of Sherman's three army 
o >rps. On the 5th Sherman telegraphed Halleck : 

"On the 3d we pursued the enemy by all the roads south till 
we found him in an intrenched position which had been prepared 
in advance, its salient on the main Marietta and Atlanta road 
about five miles south of Marietta, and the wings behind the 
Nickajack and Rottenwood Creeks. During the 4th General 
Thomas pressed the salient, and McPherson and Schofield moved 
against Nickajack by pressing close and threatening the Chatta- 
hoochee at Sandtown and below. Johnston again retreated in 
the night and now has his main force and wagons across the 
Chattahoochee, with Hardee's corps on this side, strongly in- 
trenched in a sort of tete-de-pont on a ridge of hills beginning at 
the railroad bridge and extending down the river to the mouth of 
the Nickajack. We have worked hard, and now Thomas's left 
is on the Chattahoochee, three miles above the railroad bridge at 



Doivn To The Chattahoochee 347 

Pace's Ferry. Stoneman has been most active with the cavalry 
about Sweet Water, and is now on the Chattahoochee about 
Sandtown, and Garrard started this morning for Roswell Fac- 
tory. I have no report from him yet. I am now far ahead of 
my railroad and telegraph and want them to catch up, and may 
be here some days. Atlanta is in plain view, nine miles distant. 
We have had continual skirmishing, but our losses are small, 
while we have inflicted more to the enemy. Our prisoners taken 
in the last two days will not fall short of 2,000. The extent of 
the enemy's parallels already taken is wonderful, and much of the 
same sort confronts us yet, and is seen beyond the Chattahoo- 
chee." 

On the morning of July 5th the head of General Howard's 
column swept into Vinning's Station, on the railroad close to 
Pace's Ferry, where it encountered a body of dismounted Con- 
federate cavalry. A short and sharp encounter followed, result- 
ing in the Confederates being driven to the Ferry, where they 
had barely time to cross on a pontoon bridge, attempting to de- 
stroy it as soon as they were over. The bridge was cut on the 
north bank and swung out into the middle of the river before the 
pursuing Federals could secure it. Howard held his side of the 
ferry and threw his troops in a strong position on a ridge running 
almost parallel with the river. On the morning of the 6th Gen- 
eral Schofield followed Garrard's cavalry on the extreme left of 
the Federal army, expecting to secure a crossing in the vicinity of 
Roswell. He pushed his way to the river, brushing aside the 
slight opposition he encountered, and stationed his corps at a ford 
near the mouth of Soap Creek, which he reported practicable for 
the passage of his army. He was ordered to prepare at once to 
throw a bridge over. The same day General Garrard captured 
Roswell. The few hundred Confederates guarding the place, 
mostly state troops, fell back as his cavalry advanced, burning 
the excellent bridge across the Chattahoochee as they retired. 
Garrard destroyed the factories at Roswell that had been operated 
by the Confederate government since the beginning of the war. 
In this connection a part of his report to Sherman is worth 
quoting. He said : "There were some fine factories here, one 
woolen factory, capacity 30,000 yards a month, and has fur- 



348 Atlanta And Its Builders 

nished up to within a few weeks 15,000 yards per month to the 
rebel government, the government furnishing men and material. 
Capacity of cotton factory 216 looms, 191,086 yards per month, 
and 51,666 pounds of thread, and 4,229 pounds of cotton rope. 
This was worked exclusively for the rebel government. The 
other cotton factory, one mile and a half from town, I have no 
data concerning. There was six months' supply of cotton on 
hand. Over the woolen factory the French flag was flying, but 
seeing no Federal flag above it I had the building burnt. All 
are burnt. The cotton factory was worked up to the time of its 
destruction, some 400 women being employed. There was some 
cloth which had been made since yesterday morning, which I will 
save for our hospitals (several thousand yards of cotton cloth), 
also some rope." 

Sherman's answer was characteristic. Apropos of the 
French flag incident, he said : "I will see as to any man in 
America hoisting the French flag and then devoting his labor and 
capital in supplying armies in open hostility to our government 
and claiming the benefit of his neutral flag. Should you, under 
the impulse of anger, natural at contemplating such perfidy, hang 
the wretch, I approve the act beforehand." With regard to the 
operatives of the factories, Sherman ordered : "Arrest all peo- 
ple, male and female, connected with those factories, no matter 
what the clamor, and let them foot it, under guard, to Marietta, 
whence I will send them by cars to the North. The poor women 
will make a howl. Let them take along their children and cloth- 
ing, providing they have the means of hauling or you can spare 
them." 

On the evening of the 6th Sherman sent this message to 
Washington : "Johnston made two breaks in the railroad, one 
above Marietta and one near Vining's Station. The former is 
already done, and Johnston's army has already heard the sound 
of our locomotives. The telegraph is done to Vining's, and the 
field wire is just at my bivouac, and will be ready to convey this 
to you as soon as translated into cipher. I propose to study the 
crossings of the Chattahoochee, and when all is ready to move 
quick. As a beginning I keep the wagons and troops well back 
from the river, and display to the enemy only the picket-line, with 



Down To The Chattahoochee 349 

a few batteries along at random. Have moved General Schofield 
to a point whence he can in a single march reach the Chattahoo- 
chee, at a point above the railroad bridge, where there is a ford. 
At present the waters are turbid and swollen by the late rains ; 
but if the present hot weather lasts the water will run down very 
fast. We have pontoons enough for four bridges, but as our 
crossing will be resisted, we must maneuver some. All the reg- 
ular crossing-places are covered by forts, apparently of long con- 
struction ; but we shall cross in due time, and instead of attacking 
Atlanta direct, or any of its forts, I propose to make a circuit, 
destroying all its railroads. This is a delicate movement and 
must be done with caution. Our army is in good condition and 
full of confidence; but the weather is intensely hot, and a good 
many men have fallen with sunstroke. This is a high and 
healthy country, and the sanitary condition of the army is good." 
On the evening of the 6th General Stoneman reported to 
General McPherson that he had covered upward of twelve miles 
of the river with his cavalry pickets and scouts, on the Campbel- 
ton flank. While the right and left wings of his army were thus 
early in possession of the north bank of the Chattahoochee, Sher- 
man's center demonstrated strongly in Johnston's front, threat- 
ening to assault him in his works. The Confederate army lay 
from the mouth of Nickajack Creek to beyond Harris's Ferry, 
stretching along the banks of the river and across the railroad, its 
strongest batteries being posted at the entrance to the railroad 
bridge. When the army first took its station behind the earth- 
works prepared long in advance of its coming, each of the three 
corps threw two pontoon bridges behind it across the river, thus 
affording six avenues of retreat. Johnston did not propose to be 
pushed helter-skelter across the Chattahoochee, "at night in con- 
fusion, with artillery thundering at random in his rear," and he 
was not. He retired with deliberation, in military order, his 
guns bristling in the face of the enemy until the last soldier was 
across. The corps of Hood and Stewart began to cross as soon 
as it was discovered that Schofield had succeeded in throwing his 
bridge over, toward Roswell. Why Johnston did not meet this 
movement in its inception with strong resistance from his regu- 
lars can only be explained from the fact that Sherman kept him 



350 Atlanta And Its Builders 

fully employed in other quarters — in too many quarters at once. 
Sherman was nothing if not ubiquitous. His great army poured 
down upon the Chattahoochee, forty miles from wing to wing, 
like the flood from a bursted dam. In the center of its course it 
foamed against a wall of rock in the shape of the concentrated 
Confederate army, but, like rushing water encountering natural 
obstructions, divided and rushed on at either side. On the night 
of the 8th Schofield effected a lodgment on the south side of the 
river with opposition so weak that it was positively insignificant. 
Howard, in reporting Schofield's success, which he had witnessed, 
declared that "the enemy fired but two guns — one discharge from 
each, and these canister — and two musket-shots." On the 9th 
only Hardee's corps held the north bank of the river in the face of 
the foe. But Cheatham, Cleburne, Walker and Bate, with earth- 
works in front and a river at their backs, were equal to the armies 
of the world. They stood at bay, and Sherman did not attempt 
a repetition of his Kennesaw experience. On the night of the 
9th this last corps fell back across the river, burning the bridges 
behind it. 

Many an old Confederate soldier who was last to leave 
Sherman's front that eventful night, will have thrilling memories 
awakened in him by reading the orders for Hardee to cross the 
Chattahoochee. Here they are : 

Confidential.] Headquarters Hardee's Corps, 

July 9, 1864. 

The corps will move across the Chattahoochee to-night, and, 
wherever precedence is necessary, in the following succession : 
Cheatham, Bate, Walker, Cleburne. 

First. The artillery will be withdrawn across the river at 
dusk. 

Second. The infantry will be withdrawn from the intrench- 
ments at 10 p. m. 

Third. The skirmishers will be withdrawal at 1 a. m. 

Fourth. Bate's division will cross at the upper of the two 
pontoon bridges assigned this corps, and Walker and Cleburne at 
the lower one. 

Fifth. All the skirmishers of this corps will cross at the 
upper pontoon bridge. 



Down To The Chattahoochee 351 

Sixth. The divisions of this corps will move on the road 
southwest of the railroad, and will halt at the place indicated to 
division commanders. 

Seventh. Major-General Cleburne will leave Polk's brigade 
and a battery of artillery, and Major-General Walker will leave 
Mercer's brigade and a battery at points to be indicated by the 
lieutenant-general. 

Eighth. The lower pontoon bridge will be taken up by the 
engineer corps as soon as the rear of Cleburne's infantry has 
passed, notification of which will be given by a staff officer of 
Lieutenant-General Hardee. Major-General Cleburne will leave 
detail of seventy-five men to assist in taking up the bridge. 

Ninth. The skirmishers of this corps, after having passed 
the upper pontoon bridge, will be formed to protect the bridge 
until it is burned. 

Bv command of Lieutenant-General Hardee : 

T. B. Roy, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

On the 10th Johnston informed the war department of his 
retirement south of the Chattahoochee as follows : On the night 
of the 8th the enemy crossed at Isham's, or Cavalry Ford ; in- 
trenched. In consequence we crossed at and below the railroad, 
and are now about two miles from the river, guarding the cross- 
ings." 

This move practically terminated Johnston's career as com- 
mander of the Army and Department of Tennessee. The forces 
and circumstances that had been at work for weeks to effect his 
removal, awaited only the formal order from Richmond. Many 
of his rank and file felt that it was coming. President Davis's 
advisory messages had a warning tone. Between the lines it was 
easy to read dissatisfaction and disappointment. Professional 
jealousy and political intrigue were at work for the great soldier's 
undoing. Hood was telling Bragg and Davis what might have 
been done and what ought to be done. Perhaps Johnston was 
not self-confident. Cautiousness was always his marked trait. 
On the nth he wired Richmond: "I strongly recommend the 
distribution of the U. S. prisoners, now at Andersonville. imme- 
diate! y." 



352 Atlanta And Its Builders 

On the nth President Davis sent Johnston this message: 
"Your telegram of the 8th received. You know what force you 
left in Alabama and Mississippi, and what part of it has, since 
you left that department, been transferred to reinforce you in 
Georgia. You were, therefore, in condition to judge of the value 
of the belief that there are now for the defense of those States 
16,000 cavalry, and of the conclusion drawn from that belief. 
The proposition to send 4,000 cavalry from that department to 
break up the railroad between the enemy and Dalton suggests the 
inquiry. Why not so employ those already sent to you from that 
department, or others of equal number, for the proposed opera- 
tion, the importance of which has long been recognized, and the 
immediate execution of which has become a necessity? If it be 
practicable for distant cavalry, it must be more so for that which 
is near, and former experiences have taught you the difference 
there would be in time, which is now of such pressing importance. 
Will write to you and give information in relation to the condi- 
tion of General S. D. Lee's department, which, I perceive, you 
cannot possess." 

Replying to Johnston's telegram regarding the distribution 
of the Andersonville prisoners. President Davis said : "Your 
telegram received. You have all the force that can be employed 
to distribute or guard prisoners; know the condition of the coun- 
try and prospects of military operations. I must rely on you to 
advise General Winder as to the proper and practicable action in 
relation to U. S. prisoners." 

General Braxton Bragg was then on his way to Atlanta. 
His coming was highly significant. 

Johnston sent this message to Richmond on the 12th : "The 
enemy holds several fords from eight to twelve miles above, 
where he has troops intrenched on this side. Elsewhere every- 
thing quiet, except a little occasional skirmishing at long range 
across the river, and artillery firing by the enemy, principally 
near railroad, ineffective." 

Bragg arrived in Atlanta on the 13th and reported at once 
that indications seemed to favor an entire evacuation of the city. 
This before he had seen Johnston. The next day he telegraphed 
President Davis : "The enemy are reported by General Wheeler 



Down To The Chattahoochee 353 

as having crossed two corps to this side of the river about nine 
miles above the railroad bridge. An official report has just 
reached General Wright that the enemy's cavalry, accompanied 
by artillery, crossed the Chattahoochee this evening nine miles 
from Newnan. Were at last accounts advancing on that place. 
Our army is sadly depleted, and now reports 10,000 less than the 
return of 10th June. I find but little encouraging.'' 

On the 14th Senator Ben Hill wired Johnston from Rich- 
mond : "You must do the work with your present force. For 
God's sake, do it!" 

It took Sherman a full week to get his entire army across the 
Chattahoochee. He was not ready to move upon Atlanta from 
the south side of the river until the 17th of July, the day that 
General Johnston was ordered to turn over the command of the 
Confederate army to General Hood. In the meantime, Sherman 
was meeting with no formidable opposition in crossing. He 
controlled several good fords and was laying bridges at will, 
while Johnston was making ready his line of defense at Peachtree 
Creek. At first, of course, there was much show of opposition 
by the Confederates on the immediate river bank, but in reality 
only a demonstration. The real stand was to be made back on 
the high land north of Atlanta. McPherson demonstrated for 
three days, as if intending to cross at Turner's Ferry, or below, 
and General Thomas did the same at the site of the burned rail- 
road bridges. The intention of these maneuvers was to compel 
Johnston to weaken his center or one of his flanks. When the 
crossing was finally effected, McPherson had swung clear around 
to Roswell, beyond Schofield. In the language of General How- 
ard : "Our armies made a right wheel — Thomas, on the pivot, 
taking the shortest line to Atlanta ; McPherson on the outer flank, 
coming by Roswell to Decatur, with Schofield between." While 
this maneuvering was going on, the pickets exchanged shots 
across the river, and at intervals the hostile batteries belched iron 
hail at each other. Sherman's first intention, after getting across 
the river, was to take possession of the Augusta railroad between 
Decatur and Stone Mountain. The air was full of idle rumors, 
one to the effect that Johnston did not intend to seriously defend 
Atlanta, but would make his grand stand at Stone Mountain. 
23-1 



354 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Before passing on to the operations of the hostile armies south of 
the Chattahoochee, some of Sherman's dispatches pending his 
crossing, are full of interest. This one was sent to General 
Halleck on the day that Johnston crossed : 

"I telegraph to you, and Mr. Secretary Stanton answers. 
Drop me a word now and then of advice and encouragement. I 
think I have done well to maintain such an army in such a coun- 
try for sixty days, and yet my losses are made up by the natural 
increase. The assault I made was no mistake ; I had to do it. 
The enemy and our own army and officers had settled down into 
the conviction that the assault of lines formed no part of my 
game, and the moment the enemy was found behind anything 
like a parapet, why everybody would deploy, throw up counter- 
works and take it easy, leaving it to the 'old man' to turn the 
position. Had the assault been made with one-fourth more vigor 
mathematically. I would have put the head of George Thomas's 
whole army right through Johnston's deployed lines on the best 
ground for go-ahead, while my entire forces were well in hand on 
roads converging to my then object. Marietta. Had Harker and 
McCook not been struck down so early the assault would have 
succeeded, and then the battle would have all been in our favor 
on account of our superiority of numbers, position, and initiative. 
Even as it was, Johnston has been much more cautious since, and 
gives ground more freely. His next fighting line, Smyrna Camp- 
Ground, he only held one day. I have got General Schofield 
across the Chattahoochee with two good pontoon bridges, without 
loss, and momentarily wait the news of my cavalry being across 
at Roswell Factory, where is the best ford on the whole river, but 
before going ahead I will add there a good pier or trestle bridge 
and will at some point intermediate, convenient to roads, put 
down two more pontoon bridges, making five bridges and three 
fords, before I put the army across the Chattahoochee." 

On the 15th General Grant telegraphed General Halleck 
from City Point, Va. : "There is every indication now, judging 
from the tone of the Southern press, that unless Johnston is rein- 
forced, Atlanta will not be defended. They seem to calculate 
largely upon driving Sherman out by keeping his lines of com- 
munication cut. If he can supply himself once with ordnance 



Down To The Chattahoochee 355 

and quartermaster's stores, and partially with subsistence, he will 
find no difficulty in staying until a permanent line can be opened 
with the south coast. The road from Chattanooga to Atlanta 
will be much more easily defended than that north of the Tennes- 
see. With the supplies above indicated at Chattanooga, with, say 
sixty days' provisions there, I think there will be no doubt but 
that the country will supply the balance. Sherman will, once in 
Atlanta, devote himself to collecting the resources of the country. 
He will take everything the people have, and will then issue from 
the stores so collected to rich and poor alike. As he will take all 
their stock, they will have no use for grain further than is neces- 
sary for bread. If the enemy do not detach from here against 
Sherman, they will, in case Atlanta falls, bring most of John- 
ston's army here with the expectation of driving us out, and then 
unite against Sherman. They will fail if they attempt this pro- 
gramme. My greatest fear is of their sending troops to John- 
ston first. Sherman ought to be notified of the possibility of a 
corps going from here, and should be prepared to take up a good 
defensive position in case one is sent — one which he could hold 
against such increase." 

Referring to the foregoing dispatch, Sherman said to Hal- 
leck on the 16th : "I have yours and General Grant's dispatches. 
I had anticipated all possible chances and am accumulating all the 
stores possible at Chattanooga and Allatoona, but I do not fear 
Johnston with reinforcements of 20,000 if he will take the offen- 
sive; but I recognize the danger arising from my long line and 
the superiority of the enemy's cavalry in numbers and audacity. 
I move to-morrow from the Chattahoochee toward Decatur and 
Stone Mountain, east of Atlanta. All well." 

Sherman evidently did not think much of negro troops and 
lent no encouragement to recruiting in Southern states. While 
preparing to cross the Chattahoochee he had this to say on the 
subject to Halleck : "Before regulations are made for the States 
to send recruiting officers into the rebel States, I must express my 
opinion that it is the height of folly. I cannot permit it here, and 
I will not have a set of fellows here hanging about on any such 
pretenses. We have no means to transport and feed them. The 
Sanitary and Christian Commissions are enough to eradicate all 



356 Atlanta And Its Builders 

traces of Christianity out of our minds, much less a set of unscru- 
pulous State agents in search of recruits. All these dodges and 
make-shifts but render us ridiculous in our own estimation. I 
must protect my army, and I say beforehand, I have no means to 
transport recruiting parties south of Nashville, or to feed them, 
if they come here in spite of me."' 



CHAPTER XXVI 

CLOSING IN ON ATLANTA 

On the 17th, promptly at sunrise, the great Federal army 
moved across the Chattahoochee river, General Thomas crossing 
the Army of the Cumberland at Powers's and Pace's Ferries, 
General Schofield crossing the Army of the Ohio at Phillips's, 
and General McPherson crossing the Army of the Tennessee at 
Roswell. There was no opposition worthy of the name. Thomas 
at once took position out from the river, until he was in possession 
of the country from Island Creek to Kyle's Bridge over Nancy's 
Creek. Schofield moved out toward Cross Keys, controlling the 
ridge between Island and Nancy's Creek and the road leading 
from Roswell to Buck Head. McPherson moved out over the 
Cross Keys road, in the direction of Stone Mountain, until he was 
abreast of Schofield. The whole army thus formed a concave line 
behind Nancys Creek, extending from Kyle's Bridge to Buchan- 
an's. General McCook's cavalry was disposed in Thomas's rear, 
with infantry detachments, to watch the old railroad crossing and 
vicinity. General Stoneman, returning from his reconnaissance 
below Campbellton. disposed his cavalry so as to watch the river 
at Turner's Ferry and about the mouth of Nickajack Creek, con- 
necting with McCook by patrols. General Garrard's cavalry 
scouted from McAfee's Bridge toward Pinckyneyville and cov- 
ered McPherson's left, near Buchanan's. Stoneman had orders 
to throw a pontoon bridge across at Howell's or Sandtown, if the 
opportunity presented, and make a raid upon the Atlanta and 
West Point railroad and telegraph. Garrard was charged with 
breaking the Augusta railroad effectually between Stone Moun- 
tain and Decatur. All wagons or incumbrances not absolutely 
needed for battle were left at Marietta and the Chattahoochee. 

Allatoona was made a veritable fortress. Of his new base, 
Sherman said : "I regard Allatoona of the first importance in our 

357 



358 Atlanta And Its Builders 

future plans. It is a second Chattanooga; its front and rear are 
susceptible of easy defense, and its flanks are strong." He or- 
dered the commander of that post to be vigilant, and as oppor- 
tunity arose, send small raiding bands to all the small towns in 
northwest Georgia, seizing everything in the nature of grain, 
forage and vegetables. He was ordered to send north any family 
against whom he entertained "a bare suspicion," wherever found, 
and to "shoot without mercy'' anyone troubling the railroad or 
telegraph. Another strong Union post was established at Ken- 
nesaw. 

On the night of the 17th, Sherman wired Halleck : "To-day 
we have moved out from the Chattachoochee to Nancy's Creek, 
General Thomas on the right from Pace's Ferry, toward Atlanta; 
General Schofield in the center, near Cross Keys, and General 
McPherson on the left near General Schofield. To-morrow I 
propose to advance General Thomas to Peachtree Creek, about 
Buck Head; General Schofield on the Decatur road, and General 
McPherson to the vicinity of the railroad east of Decatur and his 
cavalry division, under Garrard, will break the railroad. If we 
can break the railroad I propose to place the left wing across it, 
near Decatur, and break up the railroad eastward as far as cavalry 
can operate with prudence. To-day we encounter nothing but 
cavalry.'' 

At the same time the Confederate army was making stronger 
its earth-works, beyond Peachtree Creek, northeast of Atlanta, its 
long line extending in a crescent from near Decatur to a short 
distance from where the Western and Atlanta railroad crossed the 
Chattahoochee. This was the outer line. The inner works, 
which were even stronger, encircled the city near the suburbs, and 
were defended by the militia, which was constantly being rein- 
forced. At this time Governor Brown was calling out the old 
men and boys. 

The following dispatch sent by General Hood to General 
Bragg, under date of the 14th, is very significant: "During the 
campaign from Dalton to the Chattahoochee river it is natural to 
suppose that we have had several chances to strike the enemy a 
decisive blow. We have failed to take advantage of such oppor- 
tunities, and find our army south of the Chattahoochee, very much 



Closing In On Atlanta 359 

decreased in strength. Our loss cannot be less than 20,000, with- 
out having fought a decisive battle. I deem it of the greatest im- 
portance that General Kirby Smith should be ordered at once, 
with at least half, if not a larger portion, of his army, on this side 
of the Mississippi River. Our success west of the Mississippi 
River has proven a disadvantage to us, since the enemy has rein- 
forced his army on this side, and we have failed to do so. The 
strength of the Army of Tennessee is such at this time as to ren- 
der it necessary to have aid from General Kirby Smith — allowing 
that we should gain a victory over Sherman — to follow up our 
success and regain our lost territory. Our present position is a 
very difficult one, and we should not, under any circumstances, 
allow the enemy to gain possession of Atlanta, and deem it ex- 
cessively important, should we find the enemy intends establishing 
the Chattahoochee as their line, relying upon interrupting our 
communications and again virtually dividing our country, that we 
should attack him, even if we should have to recross the river to 
do so. I have, general, so often urged that we should force the 
enemy to give us battle as to almost be regarded reckless by the 
officers high in rank in his army, since their views have been so 
directly opposite. I regard it as a great misfortune to our coun- 
try that we failed to give battle to the enemy many miles north 
of our present position. Please say to the President that I shall 
continue to do my duty cheerfully and faithfully, and strive to do 
what I think is best for our country, as my constant prayer is for 
our success." 

General Bragg was then on his way to Atlanta. On the 15th, 
Bragg sent the two following messages to President Davis: 

"The enemy were driven back across the Chattahoochee near 
Newnan this morning by our cavalry before they reached the 
West Point railroad. Another corps of infantry has crossed 
above. Nearly all available stores and machinery are removed, 
and the people have mostly evacuated the town." 

"I have made General Johnston two visits, and been received 
courteously and kindly. He has not sought my advice, and it was 
not volunteered. I cannot learn that he has any more plan for the 
future than he has had in the past. It is expected that he will 



360 Atlanta And Its Builders 

await the enemy on a line some three miles from here, and the im- 
pression prevails that he is now more inclined to fight. The 
enemy is very cautious, and intrenches immediately on taking a 
new position. His force, like our own, is greatly reduced by the 
hard campaign. His infantry now very little over 60,000. The 
morale of our army is still reported good." 

On the same day Johnston sent this report to Bragg in At- 
lanta : "General Wheeler reported only this morning that the 
enemy's corps at Isham's Ferry advanced eastwardly three or 
four miles in the afternoon and intrenched. I did not give you 
this information sooner because I expected to see you here. I 
have not visited vou because absolutely afraid to leave my quar- 
ters." 

On the 1 6th, Jefferson Davis telegraphed General Johnston : 
"A telegram from Atlanta of yesterday announces that the enemy 
is extending intrenchments from river toward railroad to Au- 
gusta. I wish to hear from you as to present situation, and your 
plan of operations so specifically as will enable me to anticipate 
events." 

"To which Johnston replied : "Your dispatch of to-day re- 
ceived. The slight change in the enemy's dispositions made since 
my dispatch of the 14th to General Cooper was reported to Gen- 
eral Bragg yesterday. It was a report from General Wheeler 
that Schofield's corps had advanced eastwardly about three miles 
from Isham's Ford and intrenched. As the enemy has double 
our number, we must be on the defensive. My plan of operations 
must, therefore, depend upon that of the enemy. It is mainly to 
watch for an opportunity to fight to advantage. We are trying 
to put Atlanta in condition to be held for a day or two by the 
Georgia militia, that army movements may be freer and wider." 

On the 17th the blow fell in the form of the following dis- 
patch : 

Richmond, July 17, 1864. 
General J. E. Johnston: 

Lieut. -Gen. J. B. Hood has been commissioned to the tem- 
porary rank of general under the late law of Congress. I am di- 
rected by the Secretary of War to inform you that as you have 



Closing In On Atlanta 361 

failed to arrest the advance of the enemy to the vicinity of At- 
lanta, far in the interior of Georgia, and express no confidence 
that you can defeat or repel him, you are hereby relieved from 
the command of the Army and Department of Tennessee, which 
yon will immediately turn over to General Hood. 

S. Cooper, 
Adjutant and Inspector-General 
[Indorsement.] 
Received night of July 17, 1864. Headquarters, three miles 
from Atlanta, at Nelson's house, on Marietta road. 

On the same day Secretary of War Seddon sent this message 
to the new comamnder-in-chief, General John B. Hood : "You 
are charged with a great trust. You will, I know, test to the ut- 
most your capacities to discharge it. Be wary no less than bold. 
It may yet be practicable to cut the communication of the enemy 
or find or make an opportunity of equal encounter whether he 
moves east or west. God be with you." 

On the morning of the 18th the Confederate army before 
Atlanta was surprised, and in most instances grieved, to hear read 
the following order : 

General Orders, 

No. 4. Headquarters Army of Tennessee, 

July i/, 1864. 
In obedience to orders of the war department, I turn over to 
General Hood the command of the Army and Department of 
Tennessee. I cannot leave this noble army without expressing 
my admiration of the high military qualities it has displayed. A 
long and arduous campaign has made conspicuous every soldierly 
virtue, endurance of toil, obedience to orders, brilliant courage. 
The enemy has never attacked but to be repulsed and se- 
verely punished. You, soldiers, have never argued but from your 
courage, and never counted your foes. No longer your leader, 
I wdl still watch your career, and will rejoice in your victories. 
To one and all I offer assurances of my friendship, and bid an 
affectionate farewell. 

J. E. Johnston, 

General. 



362 Atlanta And Its Builders 

The Atlanta papers published the foregoing order and com- 
mented regretfully on General Johnston's removal, at the same 
time expressing great confidence in the known boldness and hard 
fighting reputation of General Hood. It was a case of "The king 
is dead — God save the king!" Johnston's reply to the order de- 
posing him from command ended with a sentence that may or 
may not have been aimed at Hood. He said : 

"Your dispatch of yesterday received and obeyed. Com- 
mand of the Army and Department of Tennessee has been trans- 
ferred to General Hood. As to the alleged cause of my removal, 
I assert that Sherman's army is much stronger, compared with 
that of Tennessee, than Grant's compared with that of Northern 
Virginia. Yet the enemy has been compelled to advance much 
more slowly to the vicinity of Atlanta than to that of Richmond 
and Petersburg, and penetrated much deeper into Virginia than 
into Georgia. Confident language by a military commander is 
not usually regarded as evidence of competence." 

Hood does not seem to have relished the responsibility of 
defending Atlanta. At any rate, he wired the war department at 
Richmond on the 18th : "I have the honor to acknowledge the 
receipt of my appointment as general of the Army of Tennessee. 
There is now heavy skirmishing and indications of a general ad- 
vance. I deem it dangerous to change the commanders of this 
army at this particular time, and to be to the interest of the service 
that no change should be made until the fate of Atlanta is de- 
cided.'' 

President Davis replied as follows: "Your telegram of this 
date received. A change of commanders, under existing circum- 
stances, was regarded as so objectionable that I only accepted it 
as the alternative of continuing in a policy which had proved so 
disastrous. Reluctance to make the change induced me to send a 
telegram of inquiry to the commanding general on the 16th in- 
stant. His reply but confirmed previous apprehensions. There 
can be but one question which yon and I can entertain — that is, 
what will best promote the public good ; and to each of you I con- 
fidently look for the sacrifice of every personal consideration in 
conflict with that object. The order has been executed, and I 
cannot suspend it without making the case worse than it was be- 
fore the order was issued." 



Closing In On Atlanta 363 

Upon the receipt of this dispatch. Hood wired back : "I 
have assumed command of the Army and Department of Tennes- 
see." To General Johnston Hood sent this note: ''Much to my 
surprise I received the appointment you refer to. I accept your 
congratulations and without its concomitants it would have been 
more agreeable. I desire to have a conversation with you, and 
for that purpose will be over early in the morning." 

General Hood issued the following address to his soldiers on 
the 1 8th: 

"Soldiers: In obedience to order from the war department 
i assume command of this army and department. I feel the 
weight of the responsibility so suddenly and unexpectedly de- 
volved upon me by this position, and shall bend all my energies 
and employ all my skill to meet its requirements. I look with con- 
fidence to your patriotism to stand by me. and rely upon your 
prowess to wrest your country from the grasp of the invader, en- 
titling yourselves to the proud distinction of being called the de- 
liverers of an oppressed people.'' 

That night General Hood reported to the secretary of war : 
"The enemy advanced to-day on all the roads leading from 
Isham's Ford and Roswell. and established his line on Peachtree 
Creek, his right resting on the Chattahoochee in the vicinity of 
the railroad, his left at Buck Head ; our army about four miles 
from Atlanta, the creek intervening between the armies." 

The next thing Richmond heard from Hood was the same 
cry Johnston had been trying to impress upon deaf ears for weeks. 
He wanted outside assistance to isolate Sherman by cutting his 
railroad far to the rear. On the 19th Hood telegraphed the sec- 
retary of war : 

"I thank you for vour kind expressions in your dispatch of 
the 17th. If General S. D. Lee can co-operate with me by breaking 
the enemy's communication, I ask that it may be done with the 
least possibly delay. I shall at all times be glad to receive any 
advice or suggestions from the authorities at Richmond." 

Hood seems to have seen no cause to change Johnston's plans 
relative to the first step to be taken in the defense of Atlanta. In- 
deed, he fought the battle of Peachtree Creek on the 20th on pre- 
cisely the lines outlined by the retiring commander. What those 
lines were Johnston tells in his Century paper as follows : 



364 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"General Hood came to my quarters early in the morning 
of the 1 8th and remained there until nightfall. Intelligence was 
soon received that the Federal army was marching toward At- 
lanta, and at his urgent request I gave all necessary orders during 
the day. The most important one placed the troops in the position 
already chosen, which covered the roads by which the enemy was 
approaching - . After transferring the command to General Hood, 
I described to h,im the course of action I had arranged in my 
mind. If the enemy should give us a good opportunity in the pas- 
sage of Peachtree Creek, I expected to attack him. If successful, 
we should obtain important results, for the enemy's retreat would 
be on two sides of a triangle and our march on one. If we should 
not succeed, our intrenchments would give us a safe refuge, where 
we could hold back the enemy until the promised state troops 
should join us ; then, placing them on the nearest defenses of the 
place ( where there were, or ought to be, seven sea-coast rifles, 
sent us from Mobile by General Maury), I would attack the Fed- 
erals in flank with the three Confederate corps. If we were suc- 
cessful, they would be driven against the Chattahoochee below the 
railroad, where there are no fords, or away from their supplies, 
as we might fall on their left or right flank. If unsuccessful, we 
could take refuge in Atlanta, which we could hold indefinitely; 
for it was too strong to be taken by assault, and too extensive to 
be invested. This would win the campaign, the object of which 
the country supposed Atlanta to be." 

Having extended to his successor such aid as he could in the 
way indicated. General Johnston left immediately for Macon, 
silently smarting under a sense of injustice. 

Public opinion as to the merits of this unfortunate con- 
troversy was and has remained divided. It is certain that the 
Federal generals fighting in front of Johnston from Ringgold to 
Atlanta entertained a high respect for his soldierly qualities and 
regarded him as anything but a mean opponent on the embattled 
field. Sherman himself said of Johnston : "No officer or soldier 
who has served under me will question the generalship of Joseph 
E. Johnston. His retreats were timely, in good order, and he left 
nothing behind.'' General Howard said : "Just at this time, 
much to our comfort and to his surprise, Johnston was removed. 



Closing In On Atlanta 365 

Johnston had planned to attack Sherman at Peach- 
tree Creek, expecting just such a division between our wings as 
we made."' Congratulations were expressed among the Federal 
officers when they learned they were to face Johnston no more. 
They were anxious for an attack by the enemy in the open. John- 
ston's prudence and caution made him more to be feared than 
Hood's dashing gallantry. 

In his "Memoirs"' General Sherman says that on July 21st 
while he (Sherman) was at the head of Schofield's troops, expect- 
ing that the enemy would evacuate, McPherson rode up with his 
staff. "We went back," he continued, "to the Howard House, 
a double frame building with a porch, and sat on the steps dis- 
cussing the chances of battle and Hood's general character. Mc- 
Pherson had also been of the same class at West Point with Hood, 
Schofield and Sheridan. We agreed that we ought to be un- 
usually cautious, and prepared at all times for sallies and for hard 
fighting, because Hood, though not deemed much of a scholar, 
or of great mental capacity, was undoubtedly a brave, determined 
and rash man." 

Probably the character of a man was never more mirrored 
in his face than was that of Hood. Pie did not look intellectual. 
He did not look like a long-headed planner, full of mental re- 
sources. Had he been one of Cromwell's Roundheads, doubtless 
he would have been zealous to the point of fanaticism. But he did 
look like a very bull-dog of war. He had the ear marks of a man 
who would fight any and all comers, and not know when he was 
whipped. And that was Hood. 

Before dismissing this famous incident and continuing the 
narration of the military movements immediately preceding 
Hood's first great battle in his capacity of chief, it might be well 
to quote General Johnston a little in his own defense. Said he in 
his Century article, from which the foregoing extract was taken : 

"In his telegram of the 17th, Mr. Davis gave his reasons for 
removing me, but in Vol. II., pp. 556 to 561, of the 'Rise and 
Fall,' he gave many others, most of which depend on misrepre- 
sentations of the strength of the positions I occupied. They were 
not stronger than General Lee's ; indeed, my course was as like his 
as the dissimilarity of the two Federal commanders permitted. As 



366 Atlanta And Its Builders 

his had increased his great fame, it is not probable that the people, 
who admired his course, condemned another similar one. As to 
Georgia, the state most interested, its two most influential citizens, 
Governor Joseph E. Brown and General Howell Cobb, remon- 
strated against my removal. 

"The assertions in Mr. B. H. Hill's letter (of October 12th, 
1878), quoted by Mr. Davis ('R. and F./ Vol. II., p. 557) do 
not agree with those in his oration delivered in Atlanta in 1875. 
Mr. Hill said in the oration: 'I know that he (Mr. Davis) con- 
sulted General Lee fully, earnestly and anxiously before this per- 
haps unfortunate removal.' That assertion is contradicted by one 
whose testimony is above question — for in Southern estimation 
he has no superior as gentleman, soldier and civilian — General 
Hampton. General Lee had a conversation with him on the sub- 
ject, of which he wrote to me : 

" 'On that occasion he expressed great regret that you had 
been removed, and said that he had done all in his power to pre- 
vent it. The secretary of war had recently been at his headquar- 
ters near Petersburg to consult as to this matter, and General Lee 
assured me that he had urged Mr. Seddon not to remove you 
from command, and had said to him that if you could not com- 
mand the army, we had no one who could. He was earnest in ex- 
pressing not only his regret at your removal, but his entire con- 
confidence in yourself.' 

"Everything seen about Atlanta proved that it was to be 
defended. We had been strengthening it a month, and had 
made it, under the circumstances, impregnable. We had de- 
fended Marietta, which had not a tenth of its strength, twenty-six 
days. General Sherman appreciated its strength, for he made 
no attack, although he was before it about six weeks. 

"I was a party to no such conversations as those given by 
Mr. Hill. No soldier above idiocy would express the opinions he 
ascribes to me. 

"Mr. Davis condemned me for not fighting. General Sher- 
man's testimony and that of the military cemetery at Marietta 
refute the charge. I assert that had one of the other lieutenant- 
generals of the army (Hardee or Stewart) succeeded me, Atlanta 
would have been held by the Army of Tennessee." 



Closing In On Atlanta 367 

Much bitterness resulted from Johnston's removal in Con- 
federate army and governmental circles, and its effect on the 
morale of the rank and file at Atlanta was not good. In Hardee's 
corps, particularly, the discontent was outspoken. There was a 
feeling that, if Johnston had to go, Hardee, as Hood's senior, was 
entitled to the command. Hardee felt aggrieved and expressed 
his determination to send in his resignation at once. He did not 
do so, however, at that time. Hood explains the reason thus : 
"In consequence, I have no doubt, of my application to President 
Davis to postpone the order transferring to me the command of 
the army, he (Hardee) altered his decision and concluded to 
remain with his corps." The crimination and recrimination 
resultant from the change of commanders filled volumes after 
the war. 

Hood assigned Major-General Cheatham to the command of 
his old corps, temporarily, averring to the war department that 
he had no major-general in the corps whom he deemed suitable 
for the position. This, too, caused ill-feeling among Hood's 
former associate generals. Hood wrote the department : "It is 
my opinion that if the Department has no more fitting person in 
view and no strong objections thereto, that Major-General Mans- 
field Lovell might be assigned here for the purpose, to the great 
advantage of this army. If a lieutenant-general is to be appoint- 
ed and sent to me, I know of no one that I would prefer to Maj.- 
Gen. Wade Hampton or S. D. Lee." 

The Federal army continued to. advance steadily and cau- 
tiously, some sections of it covering five miles on the 18th. 
Sherman was not certain that the enemy meant to defend Atlanta. 
To Thomas he said : "It is hard to realize that Johnston will 
give up Atlanta without a fight, but it may be so. Let us develop 
the truth." He cautioned his generals to be momentarily pre- 
pared for heavy battle. There was a sharp little skirmish early 
on the morning of the 18th on Nancy's Creek, an outpost of 
Confederates, opening with artillery on Howard's command, from 
the opposite side of the creek. They had burned the bridge, and 
their position being an elevated one, they succeeded in holding 
that part of Sherman's army in check until formidable artillery 
was brought to bear on them. The bridge was reconstructed and 



368 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the army pressed on to Buck Head, skirmishing with Williams's 
cavalry at every step. Although the large bodies of cavalry of 
the two armies were constantly near together, they did little but 
watch each other. His army accomplished what Sherman ex- 
pected of it the 1 8th. General Thomas reached Buck Head and 
occupied the ridge between Nancy's Creek and Peachtree Creek, 
gaining' possesion of the roads leading to Atlanta in that di- 
rection. Schofield passed through Cross Keys and occupied the 
Peachtree road where it intersected the road from Cross Keys 
to Decatur. McPherson occupied strong ground four miles to 
the left of Schofield, not far from Decatur. His cavalry was 
successful in its raid on the Augusta railroad between Decatur 
and Stone Mountain. It was assisted in the work of destruction 
by Lightburn's brigade of infantry, and some three miles of the 
railroad entirely demolished. General Logan, who supervised 
the raid on the railroad, was somewhat facetious in his report to 
McPherson that night. He said: "In the march to and from the 
railroad to my present position no resistance was met anywhere 
that I could hear of. One prisoner was captured. He was quite 
unwell. I think quite a number would have been captured if we 
had found them, and all been in the same condition as this one. 
The loss in the whole command, so far as I can learn, is one 
horse with pains in his belly from eating green corn." 

From his headquarters at Sam House's brick house, near 
Old Cross Keys, Sherman telegraphed Halleck on the night of 
the 1 8th: "We moved to-day rapidly and General McPherson 
reached the Atlanta and Augusta road at a point seven miles east 
of Decatur and four miles from Stone Mountain. General Gar- 
rard's cavalry at once set to work to break up road and was rein- 
forced by Brig.-Gen. Morgan L. Smith's division of infantry, 
and they expect by night to have five miles of road effectually 
destroyed. Thus far we have encountered only cavalry 
with light resistance, and to-morrow will move on Decatur and 
Atlanta. I am fully aware of the necessity of making the most 
of time and shall keep things moving." 

The field orders of Sherman's army for the 19th of July will 
show its position and intentions immediately before the battle of 
Peachtree Creek : 



Closing In On Atlanta 369 

Special Field Orders, Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 
No. 2>7 In the Field, near Cross Keys, Ga., July 18, 1864. 
The movements of the army to-morrow, July 19, will be as 

follows : 

I. Major-General Thomas will press clown from the north 
on Atlanta, holding in strength the line of Peachtree, but cross- 
ing and threatening the enemy at all accessible points to hold him 
there, and also taking advantage of any ground gained, especially 
on the extreme right. 

II. Major-General Schofield will move direct on Decatur 
and gain a footing on the railroad, holding it, and breaking the 
railroad and telegraph wire. 

III. Major-General McPherson will move along the rail- 
road toward Decatur and break the telegraph wires and the rail- 
road. In case of the sounds of serious battle he will close in on 
General Schofield, but otherwise will keep every man of his com- 
mand at work in destroying the railroad by tearing up track, 
burning the ties and iron, and twisting the bars when hot. Offi- 
cers should be instructed that bars simply bent may be used again, 
but if when red hot they are twisted out of line they cannot be 
used again. Pile the ties into shape for a bonfire, put the rails 
across, and when red hot in the middle, let a man at each end 
twist the bar so that its surface become spiral. General McPher- 
son will dispatch General Garrard's cavalry eastward along the 
line of the railroad to continue the destruction as far as deemed 
prudent. 

IV. All the troops should be in motion at 5 a. m., and 
should not lose a moment's time until night, when the lines should 
be closed on General Schofield about Pea Vine and Decatur. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, Aide-de-Camp. 

In Sherman's field correspondence is found evidence that he 
thought he was going to be able to take possession of Atlanta 
within forty-eight hours after his army was in motion south of 
the Chattahoochee. To Thomas he wrote: "My belief is we 
can approach from the east with certaintly of getting within 
cannon reach of the town, in which case it cannot be held. . . . 

24-1 



370 Atlanta And Its Builders 

If Hood fights behind forts close to the town, I will swing in 
between Atlanta and the river; but if he fight outside we must 
accept battle." Sherman thought, by swinging around by Deca- 
tur, away from the direct roads from the river to Atlanta, that he 
would avoid the enemy's forts. He said further to Thomas : 
"With McPherson, Howard and Schofield, I would have ample to 
fight the whole of Hood's army, leaving you to walk into Atlanta, 
capturing guns and everything. At all events, now that I feel 
satisfied you can get across Peachtree, and as I think the oppor- 
tunity the best, I will order the universal movement on Atlanta at 
daylight" (of the 20th). The following supplementary orders 
will give the reader some idea of the situation as pertains to the 
advancing Federals : 

Special Field Orders, Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 
No. 39. In the Field, near Decatur, Ga., July 19, 1864. 

The whole army will move on Atlanta by the most direct 

roads to-morrow, July 20, beginning at 5 a. m., as follows: 

I. Major-General Thomas from the direction of Buck 
Head, his left to connect with General Schofield's right about two 
miles northeast of Atlanta, about lot 15, near the houses marked 
as 'Hu." and "Col. Hoo." 

II. Major-General Schofield by the road leading from Doc- 
tor Powell's to Atlanta. 

III. Major-General McPherson will follow one or more 
roads direct from Decatur to Atlanta, following substantially the 
railroad. 

Each army commander will accept battle on anything like 
fair terms, but if the army reach within cannon-range of the city 
without receiving artillery or musketry fire he will halt, form a 
strong line, with batteries in position, and await orders. If fired 
on from the forts or buildings of Atlanta no consideration must 
be paid to the fact that they are occupied by families, but 
the place must be cannonaded without the formality of a de- 
mand. 

The general-in-chief will be with the center of the army, viz., 
with or near General Schofield. 

By order Maj.-Gen. \Y. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, Aide-de-Camp. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

BATTLE OF PEACHTREE CREEK 

Had the battle of Peachtree Creek been fought several hours 
earlier, and had Hood's plans been carried out to the letter by his 
subordinate generals, there might have been a different tale to 
tell. There were delays and "hitches." The mechanism of the 
army in battle array ( for an army is merely a fighting machine) 
did not work smoothly. The long lines of attack were full of gaps 
left by commands that were not pushed forward in time, and the 
brave men who rushed upon the enemy were not supported. What 
they gained they had to relinquish at a time and in a manner that 
made retreat a slaughter. Hood intimates that it was Hardee who 
threw the machinery out of gear. 

It was a sorry beginning for Hood, in point of casualties, at 
least. The dead and wounded he was compelled to leave upon 
the field officially reported by the enemy who buried them and 
dressed their wounds to number 4,796 officers and men. The en- 
tire Union loss was reported to be 1,710. Where the fight raged 
fiercest, whole Confederate brigades were almost annihilated. In 
his report, for example, Brigadier-General Featherston, of Lor- 
ing's division, Stewart's corps, said that out of an effective total 
of 1,230, 616 were killed, wounded and missing. Loring and 
Walthall, of Stewart's division, did most of the fighting on the 
part of the Confederates, and Geary and Williams, of Hooker's 
corps, on the part of the Federals. The battle endured from 4 
o'clock in the afternoon until dark of a midsummer day. 

Hood's attack on Sherman's right wing on the 20th of July, 
1864, was eminently characteristic of that commander. It was 
an avalanche of battle. For weeks the Federals had been claim- 
ing that they only wanted a fair shot at their enemy, away from 
breastworks and forests. They were given their opportunity 

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Battle Of Peach tree Creek 373 

now. Much of the fighting at Peachtree Creek was done in the 
open fields, and was almost hand-to-hand. The Confederates ad- 
vanced in fine fettle, confident of victory, and as they rushed upon 
the Federal earthworks — mere scratches along the ground, as 
yet — their well-known yell was never more defiant. They fought 
like furies upon the very top of long stretches of these incomplete 
trenchheaps, bayoneting and clubbing the Federals who did not 
flee. In places, as has been stated, they fairly carried the hostile 
works and broke the hostile lines, but everywhere the victors were 
flanked and enfiladed because they were wholly unsupported. Ex- 
cept, perhaps, to teach Sherman to move more slowly, Peachtree 
Creek profited Hood nothing. He could not hold the line there 
and drew back to his Atlanta defenses. 

General Howard thus describes the battle : "They came 
surging on through the woods, down the gentle slope, with noise 
and fury like Stonewall Jackson's men at Chancellorsville. As to 
our men, some of them were protected by piles of rails, but the 
most had not had time to barricade. Stewart's masses advanced 
successively from his right, so Newton was first assailed. His 
rifles and cannon, firing incessantly, and with the utmost steadi- 
ness, soon stopped and repulsed the front attack ; but whole bat- 
talions went far east of him into the gap before described. 
Thomas, behind the creek, was watching. He turned some re- 
served batteries upon those Confederate battalions, and fired his 
shells into the thickets that bordered the deep creek, sweeping the 
creek's valley as far as the cannon could reach. This was suffi- 
cient. In his own words, "it relieved the hitch." The hostile 
flankers broke back in confusion. In succession, Ward, Geary, 
Williams and Palmer received the on-coming waves, and though 
their ranks were shaken in places, they each made a strong resist- 
ance and soon rolled the Confederates back, shattered and broken." 

The most graphic account of Hood's attack is in the report of 
General Geary, from which the following extract is taken : 

"This battle was a very remarkable one as a test of the disci- 
pline and valor of our troops, and as the first defeat of the newly 
appointed commander of the rebel army it was glorious in its re- 
sults. The field everywhere bore marks of the extreme severity 
of the contest, and recalled to my mind, in appearance, the scene 



374 Atlanta And Its Builders 

of conflict where the same division fought at Gettysburg. Not a 
tree or bush within our entire range but bore the scars of battle. 
The appearance of the enemy as they charged upon our front 
across the cleared field was magnificent. Rarely has such a sight 
been presented in battle. Pouring out from the woods they ad- 
vanced in immense brown and gray masses (not lines), with flags 
and banners, may of them new and beautiful, while their general 
and staff officers were in plain view, with drawn sabers flashing 
in the light, galloping here and there as they urged their troops on 
to the charge. The rebel troops also seemed to rush forward with 
more than customary nerve and heartiness in the attack. This 
grand charge was Hood's inaugural, and his army came upon us 
that day full of high hope, confident that the small force in their 
front could not withstand them, but their ardor and confidence 
were soon shaken. My artillery, served with the utmost rapidity, 
even while receiving volleys from the rear, poured out steady dis- 
charges of canister and shell, and we could see the great gaps in 
that compact mass of human beings as each shot tore through their 
ranks. Those masses of the enemy that charged upon my right 
and rear reached at one time within a few yards of Bundy's bat- 
ter v, but by the cool bravery of my officers and men were driven 
back." 

Hood tells the story of Peachtree Creek as follows : 
"Accordingly, on the night of the 18th and morning of the 
19th, I formed line of battle facing Peachtree Creek; the left 
rested near Pace's Ferry road, and the right covered Atlanta. I 
was informed on the 19th that Thomas was building bridges 
across Peachtree Creek ; that McPherson and Schofield were well 
over toward, and even on, the Georgia railroad, near Decatur. I 
perceived at once that the Federal commander had committed a 
serious blunder in separating his corps or armies by such distance 
as to allow me to concentrate the main body of our army upon his 
right wing, whilst his left was so far removed as to be incapable 
of rendering timely assistance. General Sherman's violation of 
the established maxim that an army should always be held well 
within hand, or its detachments within easy supporting distance, 
afforded one of the most favorable occasions for complete victory 
which could have offered ; especially as it presented an opportu- 



Battle Of Peachtree Creek 375 

nity, after crushing his right wing, to throw our entire force upon 
his left. In fact, such a blunder affords a small army the best, if 
not the sole, chance of success when contending with a vastly su- 
perior force. 

"Line of battle having been formed, Stewart's corps was in 
position on the left, Hardee's in the center, and Cheatham's (form- 
erly Hood's) on the right. Orders were given to Generals Har- 
dee and Stewart to observe closely and report promptly the prog- 
ress of Thomas in the construction of bridges across Peachtree 
Creek and the passage of troops. General Cheatham was directed 
to reconnoiter in front of his left; to erect upon that part of his 
line batteries so disposed as to command the entire space between 
his left and Peachtree Creek, in order to completely isolate Mc- 
Pherson's and Schofield's forces from those of Thomas ; and, 
finally, to intrench his line thoroughly. This object accomplished, 
and Thomas having partially crossed the creek and made a lodg- 
ment on the east side within the pocket formed by Peachtree Creek 
and the Chattahoochee river, I determined to attack him with two 
corps — Hardee's and Stewart's, which constituted the main body 
of the Confederate army — and thus, if possible, crush Sherman's 
right wing, as we drove it into the narrow space between the 
creek and the river. 

"Major-General G. W. Smith's Georgia state troops were 
posted on the right of Cheatham, and it was impossible for Scho- 
field or McPherson to assist Thomas without recrossing Peach- 
tree Creek in the vicinity of Decatur, and making on the west side 
a detour which necessitated a march of not less than ten or twelve 
miles, in order to reach Thomas's bridges across this creek. I im- 
mediately assembled the three corps commanders, Hardee, Stew- 
art and Cheatham, together with Major-General G. W. Smith, 
commanding Georgia state troops, for the purpose of giving or- 
ders for battle on the following day, the 20th of July. 

"The three corps commanders, together with General G. W. 
Smith, were assembled not only for the purpose of issuing to them 
orders for battle, but with the special design to deliver most ex- 
plicit instructions in regard to their respective duties. I sought to 
'make assurance doubly sure' by direct interrogatory; each was 
asked whether or not he understood his orders. All replied in 



376 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the affirmative. I was very careful in this respect, inasmuch as I 
had learned from long experience that no measure is more impor- 
tant, upon the eve of battle, than to make certain, in the presence 
of the commanders, that each thoroughly comprehends his orders. 
The usual discretion allowed these officers in no manner dimin- 
ishes the importance of this precaution. 

"I also deemed it of equal moment that each should fully ap- 
preciate the imperativeness of the orders then issued, by reason 
of the certainty that our troops would encounter hastily con- 
structed works, thrown up by the Federal troops which had been 
foremost to cross Peachtree Creek. Although a portion of the 
enemy would undoubtedly be found under cover of temporary 
breastworks, it was equally certain a larger portion would be 
caught in the act of throwing up such works, and in just the 
state of confusion to enable our forces to rout them by a bold and 
persistent attack. With these convictions, I timed the attack at 
i p. m., so as to surprise the enemy in their unsettled condition. 

"The charge was unfortunately not made till about 4 o'clock 
p. m., on account of General Hardee's failure to obey my specific 
instructions in regard to the extension of the one-half division 
front to the right in order to afford General Cheatham an advan- 
tageous position to hold in check McPherson and Schofield. The 
result was not, however, materially affected by this delay, since 
the Federals were completely taken by surprise. 

"General Stewart carried out his instructions to the letter ; 
he moreover appealed in person to his troops before going into 
action, and informed them that orders were imperative they should 
carry everything, at all hazards, on their side of Peachtree Creek ; 
he impressed upon them that they should not halt before tem- 
porary breastworks, but charge gallantly over every obstacle and 
rout the enemy. It was evident that, after long-continued use of 
intrenchments, General Stewart deemed a personal appeal to his 
soldiers expedient. 

"General Stewart and his troops nobly performed their duty 
in the engagement on the 20th. At the time of the attack his 
corps moved boldly forward, drove the enemy from his works, and 
held possession of them until driven out by an enfilade fire of bat- 
teries placed in position by General Thomas. 



Battle Of Peach tree Creek 2>77 

"Unfortunately, the corps on Stewart's right, although com- 
posed of the best troops in the army, virtually accomplished noth- 
ing. In lieu of moving promptly, attacking as ordered, and sup- 
porting Stewart's gallant assault, the troops of Hardee — as their 
losses on that day indicate — did nothing more than skirmish with 
the enemy. Instead of charging down upon the foe as Sherman 
represents Stewart's men to have done, many of the troops, when 
they discovered they had come into contact with breastworks, lay 
down, and consequently their attempt at pitched battle proved 
abortive." 

If the feeling between Hardee and Hood had not been of the 
most cordial nature before the battle of Peachtree Creek, it was 
not improved by the blame that the latter laid at the former's door 
for the failure of the charge that day. Hood had been Johnston's 
scapegoat, and now Hardee became Hood's. 

While the battle of Peachtree Creek was in progress, and 
for some hours before, another battle was being fought on the ex- 
treme left of the Federal army, on and close to the Georgia rail- 
road, between Decatur and Atlanta. McPherson, in accordance 
with his orders, sought to turn die Confederate right flank, Sher- 
man's belief being that the enemy was weak enough in that quar- 
ter to enable the Army of the Tennessee to walk right into At- 
lanta, or, at least, to march around to the Macon and Western 
railroad and cut off Hood's principal line of communication. That 
quarter was weak, comparatively speaking, but Hood had not re- 
laxed his vigilance there. General Wheeler's dismounted cavalry 
had been posted in the trenches defending the railroad and the 
eastern approaches to the city, and General G. W. Smith's Geor- 
gia militiamen were there in support. McPherson did not deal a 
blow that represented more than a moiety of his great strength. 
Had he done so, there might have been no siege of Atlanta for the 
historian to recount. Pie "felt forward" with the extreme left 
of the Fifteenth Army Corps, the leading brigade being com- 
manded by Brigadier-General Walter Q. Gresham. The Federals 
advanced diagonally toward Atlanta, slowly sweeping Wheeler's 
skirmishers before them past the railroad, and skirmishing up 
against an open knob called Bald Hill, a very important Confeder- 
ate outpost. General Gresham was severely wounded in the leg 



Battle Of Peach tree Creek 379 

and had to be carried off the field. Wheeler held his ground with 
great gallantry, repulsing Blair's attack. In the evening Cle- 
burne's division was hurried around to that position from the 
Peachtree Creek battle ground, and Sherman's hope of making an 
easy flank movement in that direction was dissipated. 

As Lieutenant-General A. P. Stewart's corps practically 
fought the battle of Peachtree Creek, his report is of chief im- 
portance. He said in part : "On the morning of the 20th it was 
decided at army headquarters that at 1 p. m. that day an attack 
should be made on the enemy by this corps and Hardee's. The 
plan was for the divisions (commencing on Hardee's right) to 
move forward successively in echelon at intervals of some 200 
yards, to attack the enemy, drive him back to the creek, and then 
press down the creek to the left. Should the enemy be found in- 
trenched his works were to be carried, everything on our side of 
the creek was to be taken, and our crossing to the other side of 
the creek was to depend on our success. Such were the instruc- 
tions of the commanding general to General Hardee and myself. 
I was to hold a division in reserve. It seems a division had been 
withdrawn from the lines on the right of Hardee's corps. His 
corps and mine were to close to the right far enough to cover the 
space vacated by this division, the space to be divided between the 
two corps. This would have shifted my line a half division front 
to the right — perhaps at most half a mile. The division and brig- 
ade commanders were notified of the work to be done, and directed 
to reconnoiter the ground in front of their lines as far as practi- 
cable. At 1 o'clock I found the left of Hardee's corps just begin- 
ning to shift to the right. Feeling that this change was not im- 
portant, and that not a moment should be lost in making the attack 
contemplated, a staff officer was dispatched to the commanding 
general to inform him of the fact, and requesting an order to stop 
the movement to the right and commence the forward movement. 
The result was, however, that to keep up connection with the other 
corps my line moved fully a mile and a half or two miles to the 
right, and my right division (Loring's) did not move forward, 
following the one on its right in the prescribed order, until near 4 
o'clock. My instructions to division commanders, and through 
them to commanders of brigades and regiments, were: to move 



380 Atlanta And Its Builders 

forward and attack the enemy; if found intrenched to fix bayonets 
and carry his works ; to drive him back to the creek and then press 
down the creek ; that we were to carry everything in our front on 
our side of the creek. Loring's division was on the right, Walt- 
hall's in the center, and French's, the reserve division, on the left. 
The instructions given were obeyed promptly and with alacrity. 
Loring's division moved forward and carried the works in their 
front, but were compelled to fall back by an enfilade fire from the 
right, because the left division of the other corps had not moved 
up to the attack. Walthall's division also engaged the enemy with 
great spirit, while French's was moved so as to cover the left and 
be in supporting distance. Learning the cause of the check to Lor- 
ing's and Walthall's divisions, an officer [was] dispatched to re- 
quest General Hardee to allow his left division to co-operate with 
Loring in carrying the line in its front. Before an answer was 
received a staff officer from the commanding general brought me 
an order to retire to the intrenched line from which we had ad- 
vanced, and the conflict terminated. 

"The loss in Loring's and Walthall's divisions, especially the 
former, was heavy. These commanders, their subordinates, and 
men behaved entirely to my satisfaction, and I cannot but think, 
had the plan of the battle, as I understood it. been carried out 
fully, we would have achieved a great success." 

Major-General Loring, whose division gave and took the 
hardest blow, that day, says of his gallant charge : 

"I was informed at an early hour of the intention of fighting 
a battle on that day, and was requested, in company with my 
brigadiers, to examine the topography of the country in front for 
that purpose. The enemy was reported to be crossing Peachtree 
Creek and extending his line on our front. The reconnaissance 
was thoroughly made, the enemy being about two miles distant. 
The lieutenant-general informed me that the movement was to be 
made at 1 p. m. in echelon by division, at 200 yards distance, the 
corps on my right (Hardee's) to take the advance. At 1 o'clock 
the lieutenant-general notified me that General Hardee would 
move to the right the distance of half a division front, and I must 
follow the movement with my division and connect with his left. 
The order was obeyed, but instead of General Hardee's corps halt- 



Battle Of Peachtree Creek 381 

ing at the distance indicated, it continued to move to the right, 
which fact I communicated to the lieutenant-general, who ordered 
me to follow on with my division until that corps halted, and con- 
nect with its left, which 1 did, after moving near a mile to the 
right. After the lines were halted and connection made a staff of- 
ficer from General Hardee stated that it was not the intention of 
General Hardee for .Stewart's corps to move beyond the distance 
first indicated, and that a line of skirmishers from Hardee's corps 
was expected to fill the separation between the main lines of the 
two corps, and that General Hardee left a staff officer behind to 
designate the point where the right of Stewart's corps should halt, 
but through some misunderstanding the staff officer failed to give 
the information, and an officer had just been dispatched to Gen- 
eral Hardee to inform him of it. It was now about 3 p. m., too 
late. General Stewart thought, to make any change. It was sub- 
sequently ascertained that beyond the thick forest in our immediate 
front several large fields opened out, through which we were com- 
pelled to charge, giving my division the most exposed position on 
the whole line. My orders were as soon as the division on my 
right had gained the distance of 200 yards mine was to follow in 
single line of battle without reserve ; that we must not stop for any 
obstacle, and if we came to breastworks to fix bayonets and charge 
them. Each division was to incline gradually to the left as it ad- 
vanced and press clown Peachtree Creek. It was further stated 
that commanders on my right had received similar orders. 

"Featherston's and Scott's brigades, numbering 2.700 men, 
composed my present force. Adams's brigade had been detached 
several days before for picket duty on the Chattahoochee River, 
and had not yet been returned. The division on my right having 
gained the prescribed distance, my division at the word of march 
moved forward with alacrity and great spirit. After marching 
about half a mile the enemy's pickets were encountered, but fled 
after firing a few scattering shots. We here merged into the open 
fields before mentioned. The enemy was in plain view about 700 
yards distant on the opposite side of the field, occupying a ridge 
running east and west, and marked by a line of red earth, which 
plainly told the work that was before us. The division was here 
halted and the lines rectified. Perceiving the left of Cheatham's 



382 Atlanta And Its Builders 

division, on my right, to be advancing through the woods with less 
than the prescribed 200 yards distance between us my command 
was still delayed for that division to get its full distance. It was 
again ordered forward, and the men moved with bold confidence 
and resolute step in face of the enemy's works and his two lines 
of battle, when, arriving within 400 or 500 yards of the enemy's 
works, a terrible fire from his batteries and small-arms opened 
upon us, but the command moved forward with quickened step 
and a deafening yell, driving the enemy from his position and not 
stopping until our colors were planted on different points of the 
breastworks from right to left in a distance of half a mile, and 
capturing a number of prisoners. On my left the Thirty-fifth, 
Twenty-seventh, and Forty-ninth Alabama Regiments, consoli- 
dated, of Scott's brigade, captured the colors of the Thirty-third 
New Jersey Regiment and twice captured a 4-gun battery. This 
brilliant charge of my gallant division was made so rapidly and 
with such intrepidity that up to this time we had sustained but 
comparatively a small loss. As the enemy fled in confusion from 
his works the steady aim of the Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisi- 
ana marksmen of my command produced great slaughter in his 
ranks. All accounts agree that his loss was very heavy ; the ene- 
my's official reports estimating those engaged with my division at 
2,500 killed and wounded." 

The futile resistance of the assaulting column after it had 
gained possession of a part of the Federal intrenched line, is best 
told by Brigadier-General Featherston, whose command paid most 
clearly for its bravery. General Featherston, after describing the 
charge across the open field, says : 

"My brigade drove them from the works and held them for 
several minutes, but was exposed to so destructive and galling a 
fire not only from the front, but also from the right flank, that it 
was compelled to retire to the strip of timber 250 or 300 yards in 
their rear, where it was protected by the crest of the hill and the 
timber. Here it was again formed in line, the right forming in 
the open space between the strip of timber and the woods on the 
right of the brigade, where it was protected to some extent by the 
rising ground in its front. In this position the fight was continued 
until after dark, the parties being in easy range. The attack by 



Battle Of Peachtree Creek 383 

the division on my right was not made as soon as I expected, nor 
as soon as I thought was contemplated by the order of battle. Had 
the attack by that division been made before, or even at the same 
time, my brigade engaged the enemy, I think we could have held 
his works, driven him further back, captured his batteries, and 
probably a large number of prisoners. The division on my right 
did not engage the enemy (or, at least, the left brigade did not) 
until my command had retired to the strip of timber, or second 
line, which it held until ordered to withdraw. What caused this 
delay on the part of the division on my right in making the attack 
I am unable to state, as I had no conversation with the division or 
brigade commanders either before or since the battle. I was or- 
dered by the major-general commanding to withdraw my brigade 
to the trenches at 9 o'clock on that night, leaving my skirmishers 
on the field until 1 1 o'clock, which order was obeyed. I suc- 
ceeded in removing my dead and wounded, except those who fell 
in, near, and beyond the enemy's works. Brigadier-General Scott's 
brigade, on my left, advanced with me and attacked the enemy at 
the same time. The two brigades were in one line and had no 
support or reserve. Brig.-Gen. John Adams's brigade was re- 
lieved from picket duty at a late hour in the evening, and came to 
our support after a rapid inarch of four miles, arriving just before 
night. 

"The conduct of my brigade from the beginning to the end of 
the engagement was highly commendable and praiseworthy. Both 
officers and men manifested great eagerness for the fight, and be- 
haved with coolness and courage. Both the advance and the 
charge were made over very rough ground with great alacrity 
upon what appeared to be an intrenched position of the enemy in 
heavy force, under a well-directed fire from his batteries as well as 
small-arms." 

"Owing to the absence of every regimental commander 
(either killed or wounded), with one solitary exception, it is im- 
possible to do justice to the command in this report, and to men- 
tion the many instances of individual daring which should receive 
special notice. Some few, however, have been brought to my 
knowledge without the official reports of the regimental com- 



384 Atlanta And Its Builders 

manders. Adjt. W. J. Van de Graaff, of the Thirty-first Missis- 
sippi Regiment, a gallant and accomplished officer, a young man 
of promise and great moral worth, seized the colors of his regi- 
ment and bore them to the front after two or three color-bearers 
had been shot down, and following their example shared their 
fate. He fell with the colors in his hand. Adj. C. V. H. Davis, 
Twenty-second Mississippi Regiment, a gallant and excellent of- 
ficer, and a young man of ability and promise, seized the colors 
of his regiment after three color-bearers had been shot down, ad- 
vanced with them beyond the enemy's works, and fell dead while 
calling upon his regiment to dash forward on the enemy's col- 
umns." 

The following is an extract from Major-General Walthall's 
report : 

"The enemv had no works where we first encountered him, 
and was easily driven back to his intrenched line near Peachtree 
Creek, but from this it was impossible to dislodge him. At sev- 
eral points along the works in my front my troops carried the line, 
but for want of general co-operation and equal success at other 
points, these lodgments had to be abandoned, the detachments ef- 
fecting them retiring to the line occupied by the main body near 
the enemy's intrenchments, in every case bringing with them 
prisoners captured within them. Support being required on my 
right I made known the fact to the lieutenant-general command- 
ing, who ordered the Twenty-fourth South Carolina Regiment, 
commanded by its lieutenant-colonel, to report to me. Before this 
regiment arrived Colonel O'Neal, commanding Cantey's brigade, 
reported to me that his renter was broken, and when the regiment 
came up I gave Colonel O'Neal control of it to restore and 
strengthen his line. Just then Col. J. R. White, of Fifty-third 
Tennessee Regiment, division officer of the day, came up with 
the skirmishers who had covered my front when the advance was 
made, whom he had been instructed to form, when needed no 
longer as skirmishers, and hold in readiness to move to any point 
where support might be needed. I directed him also to report to 
Colonel O'Neal. 

"When we first struck the enemy in his intrenchments it was 
discovered that his right extended far beyond our line, and the 



Battle Of Pcachtree Creek 385 

left of Reynolds's brigade was subjected to a galling fire from a 
force that fell upon his flank, which was firmly endured with or- 
der undisturbed till Seidell's battery, under the immediate com- 
mand of Lieutenant Lovelace, was gotten into an advantageous 
position, where it was so skillfully and rapidly served that the 
flanking force was soon driven off in confusion. 

"Maj. \Y. C. Preston, the gallant and accomplished officer 
who commanded the battalion of artillery attached to my division, 
was with me on the field, and lost his life by a cannon shot from 
the enemy while personally superintending in an exposed position 
the firing of a section of Selden's battery directed against the 
force which had turned my left. 

''Between sunset and dark Brigadier-General Quarles,whom 
a short time before Lieutenant-General Stewart directed should 
be withdrawn from the position he had occupied, arrived with his 
command and took position in rear of Cantey's brigade, and there 
remained till after dark. Firing had now ceased, and soon I was 
directed to withdraw to the position I held in the morning." 

Brigadier-General Newton, who was first to receive Hood's 
assault, describes his command's experience thus : "With a heavy 
skirmish line the ridge, one-half [mile] wide, in front of our 
works, was taken. General Kimball's brigade moved up to the 
skirmish line and formed on the right-hand side of the road, 
Colonel Blake on the left ; Colonel Bradley was along the road 
perpendicular to their position in order of march. As soon as 
Kimball's and Blake's brigades reached the top of the ridge they 
commenced naturally to throw up log and rail barricades, and, as 
the result proved, providentially. When my line of battle was 
formed and my troops well in hand, I ordered the skirmish line 
forward. They had not advanced over 1 50 yards before they met 
the enemy in front. At the same time the enemy threw one di- 
vision around my left and rear. This attack was repulsed, the de- 
tails of which I will give hereafter. The fire had scarcely sub- 
sided on my left and rear when it broke out on my front and 
right flank where Kimball held. The enemy came completely 
around his right front. He made a return of his flank and drove 
them laterally in front of the Twentieth Corps, one division of 
which was then advancing to connect with me. From this time 

25-1 



386 Atlanta And Its Builders 

until sundown it was a succession of attacks on my right, left, and 
center, so rapid that I could not keep account of them, showing 
that the enemy were in strong force and well handled. The only 
thing that troubled me was that I did not have half men enough 
to hold the ground assaulted, even in one line, and I was obliged 
to move regiments from place to place as the attack was made, 
and several times strong attacks were repulsed by artillery and a 
few stragglers collected to support them. I had but 2,700 men in 
line. I had several regiments on the north side of Peachtree 
Creek which did good service in preventing the enemy crossing 
the creek and capturing our trains. From the best and most rea- 
sonable accounts I can gather, we were attacked as follows : Bate's 
division on my left and rear, Walker's on my left front, and Cle- 
burne to the right and rear. The position I held was a key point, 
which accounts for the vigorous attack made upon me. If I had 
been driven across the creek Hooker's left flank would have been 
entirely exposed and serious consequences ensued. The enemy 
were completely astonished to find half completed barricades on 
the hill which we had just taken and which they imagined was 
only occupied by a skirmish line." 

Brigadier-General Ward, whose command figured promi- 
nently in receiving Stewart's assault, had this to report : "About 
3 p. m. Colonel Coburn reported to me that the enemy was ad- 
vancing upon us in strong force. I immediately dispatched staff 
officers to order the brigade commanders to move their commands 
rapidly to the high ground in our front. The division moved 
at once in splendid order. The skirmish line, under command 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Bloodgood, of the Twenty-second Wiscon- 
sin, behaved most gallantly, refusing to fall back until sorely 
pressed by the rebel line of battle, and then only they retreated 
slowly, reluctantly yielding ground, disputing every foot they 
gave up. They had fallen back to the ridge covering the divi- 
sion, followed closely by the rebel line. When my line of battle 
reached them Colonel Bloodgood drew his men to the rear of the 
main line, and the battle began in earnest. The first line of the 
rebels was shattered in a few minutes, my advance was hardly 
checked a minute, the enemy had evidently believed themselves in 
a gap between General Geary and the Fourth Army Corps. 



Battle Of Peachtree Creek 387 

Meeting my line of battle seemed to completely addle their brains. 
Their first line broke, mixing up with the second line ; they were 
now in the wildest confusion, firing in all directions, some endeav- 
oring to get away, some undecided what to do, others rushing into 
our lines. I still advanced my men, keeping up a steady fire, 
crossed a deep ravine to gain the next hill to make good my con- 
nections with General Newton on my left and General Geary on 
my right, and also to gain a position which commanded the open 
country for 600 yards in advance. Once they had made a feeble 
effort to rally, but they were too badly broken. They succeeded 
in making a slight attack, but it was not a concerted movement; 
it commenced on the left, running at intervals toward the right. 
It only resulted in giving up more prisoners, 2 more battle flags, 
and swelling the already frightful number of rebel dead and 
wounded. They then fled to the woods, leaving dead, wounded, 
and arms in our possession. I took up the chosen position and 
commenced to fortify it. The enemy was rallying his men in 
the woods, keeping up a constant fire on our lines, and made sev- 
eral attempts to charge. We returned the fire vigorously, re- 
pulsed the charges before they got far out of the woods." 

At 1 1 o'clock on the night of the 20th, General Hood sent 
the following dispatch to the secretary of war at Richmond, 
which, in the light of the result of the battle, is a very inadequate 
report : "At 3 o'clock to-day a portion of Hardee's and Stew- 
art's corps drove the enemy into his breast-works, but did not 
gain possession of them. Our loss slight. Brigadier-General 
Stevens severely wounded. On our extreme right the enemy 
attacked Wheeler's cavalry with infantry, and were handsomely 
repulsed." 

A message of Sherman to Halleck, sent at 9 o'clock on the 
same night, is so inadequate as to leave the reader to wonder 
where the battle of Peachtree Creek comes in. He said : "To- 
day we moved on Atlanta and have been fighting all day. Our 
line now extends from a point on the railroad two miles and a 
half east of Atlanta, and extends around by the north to the 
mouth of Peachtree Creek. We find the enemy in force, but will 
close in to-morrow. By the Atlanta papers we learn that John- 
ston is relieved and Hood commands; that Rousseau is on the 



388 Atlanta And Its Builders 

railroad at Opelika, and that most of the newspapers and people 
have left Atlanta. General Thomas is on my right, General 
Schofield the center, and General McPherson on the left. General 
Garrard's cavalry on the left rear of General McPherson, and 
Generals Stoneman and McCook on the west bank, guarding our 
right flank. The enemy still clings to his intrenchments. If 
General Grant can keep Lee from reinforcing this army for a 
week, I think I can dispose of it. We have taken several hun- 
dred prisoners, and had some short severe encounters, but they 
were partial ; but we have pressed the enemy back at all points 
until our rifle-shot can reach the town. If he strengthens his 
works I will gradually swing around between him and his only 
source of supplies. Macon." 

The Federal telegrapher, at 10 o'clock on the same night, 
sent his chief at Washington the following slight reference to the 
battle: ''Our left has pushed forward to-day to within two 
miles of Atlanta. Reports that the right has remained nearly 
in position of last night, thus developing the enemy's line and 
proving that our information was very nearly correct as regarded 
it. Enemy has assaulted several times to-day, and has been se- 
verely repulsed each time. Our casualties light, and everything 
favorable." 

Hood's unsuccessful assault on Hooker, Howard and 
Palmer, of Thomas's army, terminated hostile operations along 
the line of Peachtree Creek. The enemy pressed closer to At- 
lanta in that quarter, and on the 21st began the siege. Of his 
operations immediately following the battle of Peachtree Creek, 
General Thomas says: "During the 21st there was consider- 
able skirmishing along the entire line, our forces in the mean- 
time crowding up to the rebel main line of works, which were 
quite formidable. During the night of the 21st the enemy fell 
back to the fortifications immediately encircling the city of At- 
lanta, and at an early hour on the 22d I had disposed my troops 
confronting the new line of defenses taken up by him. Palmer's 
corps still held the right of my line, with his left resting near the 
Western and Atlantic Railroad, two and a half miles northwest 
of Atlanta, connecting at that point with General Hooker's corps, 
which latter continued the line around to the main Buck Head 



Battle Of Peach tree Creek 389 

and Atlanta road., where Howard's corps took it up. Howard's 
left connecting with General Schofield's army near Colonel How- 
ard's house, on a road leading to Atlanta about one and a half 
miles southeast of the main Buck Head road. The position 
chosen by us was a strong one. and by nightfall of the 22d had 
been greatly strengthened by earth-works, and it having been 
ascertained that from several points Atlanta could be reached 
with rifled artillery, orders were given to keep up a steady fire 
upon the town night and day. McCook's division of cavalry 
was crossed to the east side of the river and posted on the right of 
my army, along Proctor's Creek, extending over toward Mason 
and Turner's Ferry, on the Chattahoochee." 

Bald Hill, unsuccessfully assaulted by Blair, on McPherson's 
extreme left, late in the afternoon of the 20th, was the center of 
active hostilities on the 21st. This strong position was taken 
by Blair early in the morning and held. In describing the situa- 
tion of the army on that day, and particularly in that quarter. 
General Howard says: "The 21st, a fearfully hot day, was spent 
by all in readjustment. Thomas brought his three corps for- 
ward, near to the enemy. The gap in my lines was closed as 
we neared the city. Schofield filled the space between the 
Fourth (mine) and Logan's corps. McPherson. to get a bet- 
ter left, ordered Blair to seize Bald Hill. General Force, of 
Leggett's division, supported by Giles A. Smith, who now had 
Gresham's place, charged the hill and carried it. though with a 
heavy loss. Xo time ran to waste till this point was manned 
with batteries protected by thick parapets and well secured by 
infantry supports." 

General Y\ "heeler, it will be remembered, had successfully 
held Bald Hill against Gresham's assault. After describing 
briefly his successful defense. General Wheeler's report continues : 
"About daylight the following morning (July 21) General Cle- 
burne with his division of infantry came, pursuant to General 
Hood's orders, to relieve me. while I was ordered to extend my 
line to the right. General Cleburne placed his troops so closely 
together that only a little more than half my line was occupied by 
General Cleburne's troops. While changing position, and be- 
fore my troops had faced toward the enemy, a general attack was 



390 Atlanta And Its Builders 

made on my own and General Cleburne's front. General Fer- 
guson, who was on the right, reported a force turning his right 
flank, when, at the same moment, a general assault of several 
lines of battle was made by the enemy. Ferguson gave way in 
some confusion, which exposed the right of Allen's brigade, 
which, with the Georgia brigade, nevertheless, fought brilliantly, 
repulsing a desperate assault and killing the enemy in hand-to- 
hand conflicts. On the enemy's second assault both the Georgia 
and Alabama brigades, with the right brigade of Cleburne's divi- 
sion, were forced from their works by an overwhelming force. 
After falling back a short distance the Georgia and part of the 
Alabama brigades, rallied, charged the enemy, and retook the 
works, with 2 officers and 20 privates, beside a number of the 
enemy's dead and wounded, some of whom were killed in our 
rifle-pits. This was a most brilliant feat, and the Georgia brig- 
ade deserves great credit for its conduct upon that day." 

General Leggett, whose division captured Bald Hill on the 
morning of the 21st, says in his report: "In pursuance of or- 
ders from Major-General Blair, I moved my division upon the 
enemy's works on the hill which I now occupy about sunrise on 
the 2 1 st instant. The rebels made a stubborn resistance, but my 
command moved at a quick step until the enemy opened fire, and 
then struck a double-quick and took possession of their works 
and several prisoners. The enemy rallied and made repeated 
efforts to drive us from the hill, but were unsuccessful. In this 
fight the First Brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. M. F. Force, 
was particularly conspicuous and did great honor to themselves 
and the cause for which they fought. Before 9 a. m. of that day 
I had a battery in position and threw shells into Atlanta. Dur- 
ing the day the enemy were discovered moving to the left, and the 
Fourth Division moved to my left flank, and our flanks were as 
well guarded by pickets and outposts as possible in our position 
and with our limited force. The balance of the day and the fol- 
lowing night were used in intrenching and fortifying." 

At midnight after the battle of Peachtree Creek, Sherman 
sent an order to General Garrard to leave at once with his cavalry 
for a raid on Covington, striking the Georgia railroad at or near 
Lithonia, from which point he was ordered to destroy the track 



Battle Of Peachtree Creek 391 

clear to Covington, and especially the Yellow River bridge. At 
Covington he was to destroy all stores and capture whatever 
could be utilized by the army, especially cattle and mules ; also to 
send a detachment to burn the rail and road bridges over the Ul- 
cofauhachee, east of there. 

On the night of the 21st Sherman sent a more detailed re- 
port of Peachtree Creek to Washington, as follows: "Yesterday 
at 4 p. m. the enemy sallied from his intrenchments and fell sud- 
denly and heavily on our line in the direction of Buck Head. The 
blow fell upon General Newton's division, of General Howard's 
corps, and General Johnson's, of General Palmer's. For two 
hours the fighting was close and severe, resulting in the complete 
repulse of the enemy with heavy loss in dead and wounded. He 
left his dead and many wounded in our possession, we retaining 
undisputed possession of all the ground fought over. General 
Newton reports he has buried 200 of the enemy's dead, and is 
satisfied he wounded at least 1,200. His entire loss is only 100, 
as his men were partially covered by a rail barricade. At the 
time of the attack General Hooker was in the act of advancing 
his lines, so that he fought his corps uncovered, in comparatively 
open ground and on fair terms with the enemy. The contest 
was very severe. He has buried about 400 of the rebel dead, 
took 7 colors, and has collected many of the wounded and other 
prisoners. Hooker thinks the rebel wounded in his front fully 
equal to 4,000; but I don't like to make guesses in such matters. 
His own loss will be covered by 1,500. On the whole the result 
is most favorable to us. To-day we have gained important posi- 
tions, so that Generals McPherson and Schofield, on the east, 
have batteries in position that will easily reach the heart of the 
city, and General Howard, on the north, also has advanced his 
lines about two miles, being within easy cannon-range of the 
buildings in Atlanta. He compelled the enemy to give up a long 
line of parapets, which constituted an advance line of intrench- 
ments. The city seems to have a line all round it, at an average 
distance from the center of the town of one mile and a half, but 
our shot passing over this line will destroy the town, and I doubt 
if General Hood will stand a bombardment ; still he has fought 
hard at all points all day. I will open on the town from the 



392 Atlanta And Its Builders 

east and northeast to-morrow, and General Thomas will advance 
his right from the month of Peachtree Creek, so as to cross the 
railroad to the northwest of the town. I have sent General Gar- 
rard's cavalry eastward to Covington to break railroad and de- 
stroy the bridges on Yellow River and the Ulcofauhachee Creek. 
In the action yesterday the rebel generals O'Branan [?] and Ste- 
vens were killed, and among the dead were 3 colonels and many 
officers. Brigadier-General Gresham was severely wounded 
yesterday, but is in no danger of life or limb." 

General Hood's version of the result of the fighting that cen- 
tered at Bald Hill, as telegraphed to Richmond on the 21st, fol- 
lows : "This morning the enemy attacked Cleburne's division, 
of Hardee's corps, and a portion of General Wheeler's cavalry, 
upon our extreme right, but were handsomely repulsed. Colonel 
Adams, Thirtv-third Alabama, was killed." 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE BATTLE OF ATLANTA 

The battle of Atlanta, fought the 22d of July, 1864, closely 
approached in proportions and casualties the tremendous Virginia 
conflicts and was by odds the heaviest battle of Sherman's famous 
campaign. In results it was anything but decisive, though the 
largest benefits accrued to the Confederate arms. Probably, 
without this battle, the fall of Atlanta would have been a matter 
of davs where it necessarily became a matter of weeks. It pre- 
vented the Federal army striking a vital blow on the eastern side 
of the city, the first and most practicable point aimed at. and it 
taught Sherman that, however overwhelming his army numeric- 
ally, it could not trust to brute strength to vanquish the small, 
though intrepid and skillfully handled, army of Hood. Sher- 
man advanced upon Atlanta rather loosely and without strict re- 
gard to the greatest degree of military security. After the bat- 
tle of Atlanta he trusted more to science than force. It had the 
effect of deferring his hopes and changing his plan of campaign. 
In this battle each side lost one of its ablest and bravest com- 
manders — the Federals Major-General James B. McPherson, 
commander of the Army of the Tennessee, and the Confederates 
Major-General W. H. T. Walker, commander of a division in 
Hardee's corps. The combined losses from all causes on this 
bloody field were upward of 10.000. slightly over half of which 
was suffered by the Confederates. About one-third of Sher- 
man's and one-half of Hood's army was engaged. 

A clearer and more comprehensive statement of the objects 
of this battle and narrative of its events, from a Confederate 
standpoint, cannot be found or prepared than Hood's own story. 
It is certainly an admirable defense of his conduct of operations 
and gives an insight into his indomitable character and military 
genius. He says : 

393 



394 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"The failure on the 20th rendered urgent the most active 
measures in order to save Atlanta even for a short period. 
Through the vigilance of General Wheeler I received informa- 
tion, during the night of the 20th, of the exposed position of Mc- 
Pherson's flank; it was standing out in air, near the Georgia rail- 
road between Decatur and Atlanta, and a large number of the 
enemy's wagons had been parked in and around Decatur. The 
roads were in a good condition, and ran in the direction to enable 
a large body of our army to march, under cover of darkness, 
around this exposed flank and attack in rear. 

"I determined to make also necessary preparations for a re- 
newed assault ; to attack the extreme left of the Federals in rear 
and flank and endeavor to bring the entire Confederate army into 
united action. 

"Accordingly, Hardee's and Stewart's corps resumed their 
former positions. Colonel Presstman, chief engineer, was in- 
structed to examine at once the partially completed line of works 
toward Peachtree Creek, which General Johnston had ordered to 
be constructed for the defense of Atlanta, and to report, at the 
earliest moment, in regard to their fitness to be occupied by Stew- 
art's and Cheatham's corps, together with the Georgia state 
troops, under General G. W. Smith. The report was received 
early on the morning of the 21st, to the effect that the line es- 
tablished by Johnston was not only too close to the city and 
located upon too low ground, but was totally inadequate for the 
purpose designed; that Sherman's line, which extended from the 
vicinity of Decatur, almost to the Dalton railroad, north of At- 
lanta, rendered necessary the construction of an entirely new line, 
and upon more elevated ground. 

"The chief engineer was thereupon directed to prepare and 
stake off a new line, and to employ his entire force, in order that 
the troops might occupy the works soon after dark of the night 
of the 2 1st, and have time to aid in strengthening their position 
before dawn of next morning. The task was soon executed 
through the skill and energy of Colonel Presstman and his assist- 
ants. Generals Stewart, Cheatham and G. W. Smith were in- 
structed to order their division and brigade commanders to exam- 
ine before dark the ground to be occupied by their respective 



The Battle Of Atlanta 395 

troops, so as to avoid confusion or delay at the time of the move- 
ment. 

"General Hardee, who commanded the largest corps, and 
whose troops were comparatively fresh, as they had taken but lit- 
tle part in the attack of the previous day, was ordered to hold his 
forces in readiness to move promptly at dark that day — the 21st. 
I selected Hardee for this duty, because Cheatham had, at that 
time, but little experience as a corps commander, and Stewart had 
been heavily engaged the day previous. 

"The position of the enemy the 21st remained, I may say, 
unchanged, with the exception that Schofield and McPherson had 
advanced slightly toward Atlanta. To transfer after dark our 
entire line from the immediate presence of the enemy to another 
line around Atlanta, and to throw Hardee, the same night, en- 
tirely to the rear and flank of McPherson — as Jackson was 
thrown in a similar movement, at Chancellorsville and Second 
Manassas — and to initiate the offensive at daylight, required no 
small effort upon the part of the men and officers. I hoped, how- 
ever, that the assault would result not only in a general battle, 
but in a signal victory to our arms. 

"It was absolutely necessary these operations should be exe- 
cuted that same night, since a delay of even twenty-four hours 
would allow the enemy time to intrench further, and afford Sher- 
man a chance to rectify, in a measure, his strange blunder in sepa- 
rating- Thomas so far from Schofield and McPherson. 

"I well knew he would seek to retrieve his oversight at the 
earliest possible moment ; therefore I determined to forestall his 
attempt and to make another effort to defeat the Federal army. 
No time was to be lost in taking advantage of this second un- 
expected opportunity to achieve victory and relieve Atlanta. 

"I was convinced that Schofield and McPherson intended to 
destroy not only the Georgia railroad, but likewise our main line 
of communication, the railroad to Macon. It is now evident the 
blow on the 20th checked the reckless manner of moving which 
had so long been practiced by the enemy, without fear of molesta- 
tion, during the Dalton-Atlanta campaign. The rap of warning 
received by Thomas, on Peachtree Creek, must have induced the 
Federal commander to alter his plan. 



396 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"Thus was situated the Federal army at the close of night, 
on the 2 1 st: it was but partially intrenched; Schofield and Mc- 
Pherson were still separated from Thomas, and at such distance 
as to compel them to make a detour of about twelve miles, in or- 
der to reach the latter in time of need. 

"The Confederate army occupied the same position, at dark, 
as prior to the attack on the 20th. The new line around the city, 
however, had been chosen ; each corps commander fully advised 
of the ground assigned to him, and the special duty devolving 
upon him ; working parties had been detailed in advance from the 
corps of Stewart and Cheatham, and from the Georgia state 
troops ; rations and ammunition had been issued, and Hardee's 
corps instructed to be in readiness to move at a moment's warn- 
ing. 

"The demonstrations of the enemy upon our right, and 
which threatened to destroy the Macon railroad — our main line 
for receiving supplies — rendered it imperative that I should 
check, immediately, his operations in that direction ; otherwise 
Atlanta was doomed to fall at a very early day. Although the 
attack of the 20th had caused Sherman to pause and reflect, I do 
not think he would have desisted extending his left toward our 
main line of communication had not the events occurred which I 
am about to narrate. 

"As already stated, every preparation had been carefully 
made during the day of the 21st. I had summoned, moreover, 
to my headquarters, the three corps commanders, Hardee, Stew- 
art and Cheatham, together with Major-General Wheeler, com- 
manding cavalry corps, and Major-General G. W. Smith, com- 
manding Georgia state troops. The following minute instruc- 
tions were given in the presence of all assembled, in order that 
each might understand not only his own duty, but likewise that 
of his brother corps commanders. By this means I hoped each 
officer would know what support to expect from his neighbor in 
the hour of battle. 

"Stewart, Cheatham, and G. W. Smith were ordered to 
occupy soon after dark the positions assigned them in the new 
line round the city, and to intrench as thoroughly as possible. 
General Shoup, chief of artillery, was ordered to mass artillery 



The Battle Of Atlanta 397 

on our right. General Hardee was directed to put his corps in 
motion soon after dusk ; to move south on the McDonough road, 
across Entrenchment Creek at Cobb's Mills, and completely to 
turn the left of McPherson's army and attack at daylight, or as 
soon thereafter as possible. He was furnished guides from 
Wheeler's cavalry, who were familiar with the various roads in 
that direction, was given clear and positive orders to detach his 
corps, to swing away from the main body of the army, and to 
march entirely around and to the rear of McPherson's left flank, 
even if he was forced to go to or beyond Decatur, which is only 
about six miles from Atlanta. 

"Major-General Wheeler was ordered to move on Hardee's 
right with all the cavalry at his disposal, and to attack with Har- 
dee at daylight. General Cheatham, who was in line of battle 
on the right and around the city, was instructed to take up the 
movement from his right as soon as Hardee succeeded in forcing 
back, or throwing into confusion, the Federal left, and to assist 
in driving the enemy down and back upon Peachtree Creek, from 
right to left. General G. W. Smith would, thereupon, join in 
the attack. General Stewart, posted on the left, was instructed 
not only to occupy and keep a strict watch upon Thomas, in or- 
der to prevent him from giving aid to Schofield and McPherson, 
but to engage the enemy the instant the movement became gen- 
eral, i. e., as soon as Hardee and Cheatham succeeded in driving 
the Federals down Peachtree Creek and near his right. 

"Thus orders were given to attack from right to left, and to 
press the Federal army down and against the deep and muddy 
stream in their rear. These orders were carefully explained 
again and again, till each officer present gave assurance that he 
fully comprehended his duties. 

"At dawn on the morning of the 22d, Cheatham, Stewart, 
and G. W. Smith had, by alternating working parties during the 
night previous, not only strongly fortified their respective posi- 
tions, but had kept their men comparatively fresh for action, and 
were in readiness to act as soon as the battle was initiated by Har- 
dee, who was supposed to be at that moment in the rear of the ad- 
versary's flank. 

"I took my position at daybreak near Cheatham's right, 
where I could observe the left of the enemy's intrenchments, 



398 Atlanta And Its Builders 

which seemed to be thrown back a short distance on their extreme 
left. After awaiting nearly the entire morning, I heard, about 
10 or 11 o'clock, skirmishing going on directly opposite the left 
of the enemy, which was in front of Cheatham's right and 
Shoup's artillery. A considerable time had elapsed when I dis- 
covered, with astonishment and bitter disappointment, a line of 
battle composed of one of Hardee's divisions advancing directly 
against the intrenched flank of the enemy. I at once 
perceived that Hardee had not only failed to turn Mc- 
Pherson's left, according to positive orders, but had 
thrown his men against McPherson's breastworks, there- 
by occasioning unnecessary loss to us, and rendering doubtful the 
great result desired. In lieu of completely turning the Federal 
left and taking the intrenched line of the enemy in reverse, he 
attacked the retired wing of their flank, having his own left 
almost within gunshot of our main line around the city. I then 
began to fear that his disregard of the fixed rule in war, that one 
danger in rear is more to be feared than ten in front — in other 
words, that one thousand men in rear are equal to ten thousand 
in front — would cause us much embarrassment and place his 
corps at great disadvantage, notwithstanding he had success 
within easy grasp. It had rested in his power to rout McPher- 
son's army by simply moving a little farther to the right, and at- 
tacking in rear and flank instead of assaulting an intrenched 
flank. I hoped, nevertheless, this blunder would be remedied, 
at least in part, by the extreme right of his line lapping round, 
during the attack, to the rear of McPherson. I anxiously await- 
ed tidings from the scene of action while listening attentively to 
what seemed a spirited engagement upon that part of the field. 
This sound proceeded from the guns of the gallant Wheeler, in 
the direction of Decatur, whence I hoped, momentarily, to hear a 
continuous roar of musketry, accompanied by the genuine Con- 
federate shout from Hardee's entire corps, as it advanced and 
drove the enemy down Peachtree Creek between our general line 
of battle and that formidable stream. Although the troops of 
Hardee fought, seemingly, with determination and spirit, there 
were indications that the desired end was not being accomplished. 
The roar of musketrv occurring only at intervals strengthened 



The Battle Of Atlanta 399 

this impression, and a staff officer was dispatched to General Har- 
dee to know the actual result. 

"During the early afternoon I received information that the 
attack had been, in part, successful, but had been checked in con- 
sequence of our troops coming in contact with different lines of 
intrenchments, several of which they had carried and held. Fear- 
ing a concentration of the enemy upon Hardee, I commanded 
General Cheatham, about 3 p. m., to move forward with his corps 
and attack the position in his front, so as to, at least, create a di- 
version. The order was promptly and well executed, and our 
troops succeeded in taking possession of the enemy's defenses in 
that part of the field. A heavy enfilade fire, however, forced 
Cheatham to abandon the works he had captured. 

"Major-General G. W. Smith, perceiving that Cheatham had 
moved out on his left, and having thoroughly comprehended all 
the orders relative to the battle, moved gallantly forward with his 
state troops in support of Cheatham's attack, but was eventually 
forced to retire on account of superiority of numbers in his front. 

"Hardee bore off as trophies eight guns and thirteen stands 
of colors, and, having rectified his line, remained in the presence 
of the enemy. Cheatham captured five guns and five or six 
stands of colors. 

"Notwithstanding the non-fulfillment of the brilliant result 
anticipated, the partial success of that day was productive of 
much benefit to the army. It greatly improved the morale of the 
troops, infused new life and fresh hopes, arrested desertions, 
which had hitherto been numerous, defeated the movement of Mc- 
Pherson and Schofield upon our communications in that direction, 
and demonstrated to the foe our determination to abandon no 
more territory without at least a manful effort to retain it. 

"It became apparent almost immediately after the battle of 
the 22cl that Sherman would make an attack upon our left, in or- 
der to destroy the Macon railroad ; and, from that moment, I may 
say, began the siege of Atlanta. The battles of the 20th and 22d 
checked the enemy's reckless manner of moving about, and illus- 
trated effectually to Sherman the danger of stretching out his line 
in such a manner as to form extensive gaps between his corps or 
armies, as he admits he did at Rocky Face Ridge and New Hope 
Church.'' 



400 Atlanta And Its Builders 

It would seem that Hood is unjustly severe against Hardee. 
While the latter general may not have got as far around McPher- 
son's flank as he was expected to. Hood takes no account, appa- 
rently, of the fact that the Federal general, Dodge, was in the act 
of moving to strengthen McPherson's extreme left, when Har- 
dee's corps, behind the Federal left flank, began the charge, and 
that Dodge, by the fortune of accident, was directly in Hardee's 
front and had but to face his men in that direction to meet the on- 
coming enemy with an admirable line of battle. Dodge had 
plenty of artillery with him and happened to be in a good posi- 
tion to post it where it could be used with effect. He saw Har- 
dee's advance from the rear in plenty of time to form to meet it, 
and the Confederate charging column was at the disadvantage 
of having to cross a wide cultivated space of ground before it 
could reach Dodge's line of battle. It is this circumstance that 
minimized the success of Hood's grand coup, which was really 
brilliantly planned and otherwise would have no doubt been much 
more successful. 

No Federal general gives a fairer account of this skillfully 
planned battle than General Oliver O. Howard, who succeeded 
McPherson to the command of the Army of the Tennessee. He 
explains Dodge's fortuitous situation and describes the killing 
of McPherson. General Howard says : 

"Hardee, however, was destined to a special duty. About 
midnight he gathered his four divisions into Atlanta ; Bate led the 
way ; Walker came next ; Cleburne, having now left the vicinity 
of Bald Hill (for he w : as soon to go beyond it), followed; then 
came Maney in rear. They pushed out far south and around 
Gresham's sleeping soldiers; they kept on eastward till Hardee's 
advance was within two miles of Decatur, and his rear Avas nearly 
past Sherman's extreme left. There, facing north, he formed 
his battle front; then he halted on rough ground, mostly covered 
by forest and thicket. He had made a blind night march of fif- 
teen miles ; so he rested his men for a sufficient time, when, slowly 
and confidently, the well-disciplined Confederates in line took up 
their forward movement. Success was never more assured, for 
was not Sherman's cavalry well out of the way. breaking a rail- 
road and burning bridges at and beyond Decatur? And thus 



The Battle Of Atlanta 401 

far no Yankee except a chance prisoner had discovered this Jack- 
sonian march ! The morning showed us empty trenches from 
Bald Hill to the right of Thomas. We quickly closed again on 
Atlanta, skirmishing as we went. McPherson's left was, how- 
ever, near enough already, only a single valley lying between 
Blair's position and the outer defensive works of the city. The 
Sixteenth corps (Dodge), having sent a detachment under Gen- 
eral Sprague, to hold Decatur, support the cavalry and take care 
of sundry army wagons — a thing successfully accomplished — had 
marched, on the 21st, toward Atlanta. Dodge remained for the 
night with head of column a mile or more in rear of Blair's gen- 
eral line. Fuller's division was nearest Blair's left, and Swee- 
ney's not far from the Augusta railroad, farther to the north. Mc- 
Pherson spent the night with Sweeney. His hospitals and main 
supply trains were between Sweeney and the front. About mid- 
day McPherson, having determined to make a stronger left, had 
set Dodge's men in motion. They marched, as usual, by fours, 
and were in a long column pursuing their way nearly parallel to 
Hardee's battle front, which was hidden by the thick trees. Now 
danger threatened : at the first skirmish shots Dodge's troops halt- 
ed and faced to the left and were in good line of battle. The 
Confederate divisions were advancing. Fortunately for Dodge, 
after the firing began, Hardee's approaching lines nearing him 
had to cross some open fields. McPherson was then paying a 
brief visit to Sherman near the Howard house. The attack was 
sudden, but Dodge's veterans, not much disturbed, went bravely 
to their work. It is easy to imagine the loud roar of artillery 
and the angry sounds of musketry that came to Sherman and Mc- 
Pherson when the sudden assault culminated and extended from 
Dodge to Blair's left. McPherson mounted and galloped off 
toward the firing. He first met Logan and Blair near the rail- 
way; then the three separated, each to hasten to his place on the 
battle-line. McPherson went at once to Dodge ; saw matters 
going well there ; sent off aides and orderlies with dispatches, till 
he had but a couple of men left with him. He then rode forward 
to pass to Blair's left through the thick forest interval. Cheat- 
ham's division was just approaching. The call was made, "Sur- 
render!" But McPherson, probably without a thought save to 
26-1 



The Battle Of Atlanta 403 

escape from such a trap, turned his horse toward his command. 
He was instantly slain, and fell from his horse. One of his or- 
derlies was wounded and captured; the other escaped to tell the 
sad news. Our reinforcements were on the way, so that Cheat- 
ham was beaten back. While the battle raged, McPherson's 

body was brought to Sherman at the Howard house 

Logan immediately took the Army of the Tennessee, giving his 
corps to Morgan L. Smith. As soon as Hood, from a prominent 
point in front of Atlanta, beheld Hardee's lines emerging from 
the thickets of Bald Hill, and knew by the smoke and sound that 
the battle was fully joined, he hurried forward Cheatham's divi- 
sion to attack Logan all along the east front of Atlanta. At the 
time I sat beside Schofield and Sherman near the Howard house, 
and we looked upon such parts of the battle as our glasses could 
compass. Before long we saw the line of Logan broken, with 
parts of two batteries in the enemy's hands. Sherman put in a 
cross-fire of cannon, a dozen or more, and Logan organized an 
attacking force that swept away the bold Confederates by a 
charge of double-quick. Blair's soldiers repulsed the front at- 
tack of Cheatham's and Maney's divisions, and then, springing 
over their parapets, fought Bate's and Maney's men from the 
other side. The battle continued till night, when Hood again 
yielded the field to Sherman and withdrew. The losses on both 
sides in this battle of Atlanta were probably nearly even — about 
four thousand each. Our gain was in morale." 

Major W. H. Chamberlin, of Dodge's command, who by the 
latter's order rode to McPherson for reinforcements after Hardee 
began his attack, gives an interesting description of the opening of 
the battle of Atlanta. He says Dodge's division was not actually 
in motion at the time the enemy's skirmishers opened, but had 
halted at the noon hour. General Dodge had been invited by Gen- 
eral Fuller to lunch with him, and was in the act of dismounting 
to accept the latter's hospitality when the danger signals in the 
direction of Decatur caught his ear. Major Chamberlin's narra- 
tive continues : "He saw in an instant that something serious was 
at hand. He gave General Fuller orders to form his division im- 
mediately facing southeasterly, and galloped off toward Sweeney's 
division. He had hardly reached that command when Hardee's 



404 Atlanta And Its Builders 

lines came tearing wildly through the woods with the yells of de- 
mons. As if by magic, Sweeney's division sprang into line. The 
two batteries of artillery ( Loomis's and Laird's) had stopped on 
commanding ground, and they were promptly in service. General 
Dodge's quick eyes saw the proper disposition to be made of a 
portion of Colonel Mersy's brigade, and cutting red tape, he de- 
livered his orders direct to the colonels of the regiments. The or- 
ders were executed instantly, and the enemy's advance was 
checked. This act afterward caused trouble. General Dodge was 
not a West Point graduate, and did not revere so highly the army 
regulations as did General Sweeney, who had learned them as a 
cadet. Sweeney was much hurt by General Dodge's action in giv- 
ing orders direct to regimental commanders, and pursued the 
matter so far as to bring on a personal encounter a few days after 
the battle, in which he came near losing his life at the hands of 
a hot-tempered officer. 

"The battle of General Dodge's corps on this open ground, 
with no works to protect the troops of either side, was one of the 
fiercest of the war. General Dodge's troops were inspired by his 
courageous personal presence, for he rode directly along the lines, 
and must have been a conspicuous target for many a Confederate 
gun. His sturdy saddle-horse was worn out early in the after- 
noon, and was replaced by another. There was not a soldier who 
did not feel that he ought to equal his general in courage and no 
fight of the war exhibited greater personal bravery on the part of 
an entire command than was shown here. Nor can I restrain a 
tribute to the bravery of the enemy. We had an advantage in ar- 
tillery; they in numbers. Their assaults were repulsed, only to be 
fearlessly renewed, until the sight of dead and wounded lying in 
their way, as they charged again and again to break our lines, 
must have appalled the stoutest hearts. So persistent were their 
onslaughts that numbers were made prisoners by rushing directly 
into our lines." 

Lieutenant-Colonel Strong, McPherson's chief-of-staff, de- 
scribes the scene that he and his chief saw, just before McPherson 
rode off to his death : 

"The enemy, massed in columns three or four lines deep, 
moved out of the dense timber several hundred vards from 



The Baltic Of Atlanta 405 

Dodge's position, and, after gaining fairly the open fields, halted 
and opened fire rapidly on the Sixteenth corps. They, however, 
seemed surprised to find our infantry in line of battle, prepared 
for attack, and, after facing for a few minutes the destructive fire 
from the divisions of Generals Fuller and Sweeney, fell back in 
disorder to the cover of the woods. Here, however, their lines 
were quickly re-formed, and they again advanced, evidently de- 
termined to carry the position. The scene at this time was grand 
and impressive. It seemed to us that every mounted officer of 
the attacking column was riding at the front or at the right or 
left of the first line of battle. The regimental colors waved and 
fluttered in advance of the lines, and not a shot was fired by the 
rebel infantry, although their movement was covered by a heavy 
and well-directed fire of artillery which was posted in the woods 
and on higher ground, and which enabled the guns to bear upon 
our troops with solid shot and shell, by firing over the attacking 
column. It seemed impossible, however, for the enemy to face 
the sweeping, deadly fire from Fuller's and Sweeney's divisions, 
the guns of whose batteries fairly mowed great swaths in the ad- 
vancing columns. They showed great steadiness, and closed up 
the gaps and preserved their alignments ; but the iron and leaden 
hail which was poured upon them was too much for flesh and 
blood to stand, and before reaching the center of the open fields 
the columns were broken and thrown into great confusion. Tak- 
ing advantage of this, a portion of Fuller's and Sweeney's divi- 
sions, with bayonets fixed, charged the enemy and drove them 
back to the woods, taking many prisoners. General McPherson's 
admiration for the steadiness and determined bravery of the Six- 
teenth corps was unbounded." 

While Hardee did not accomplish what he set out to, he 
made a gallant assault all along his lines, carrying some portions 
of the enemy's position and capturing a few stands of colors and 
guns, as well as several hundred prisoners. On the night follow- 
ing the battle he fortified and held most of his ground for four 
days. \\ "heeler's cavalry fought a brisk battle at Decatur at the 
same time, charging the enemy's line of defenses there and carry- 
ing the works after a stubborn resistance. Wheeler took 225 pris- 
oners, a 12-pound gun, many small arms and other trophies, pur- 



406 Atlanta And Its Builders 

suing the enemy beyond the town. He was called to Hardee's as- 
sistance late in the afternoon and helped the latter most effectively. 
The following day he was sent after the Covington raiders. 

Unfortunately, few of the Confederate reports have been pre- 
served for the historian's use, and some of the most interesting de- 
tails of Hardee's assault cannot be presented in official form. The 
Federal reports, on the 'contrary, are full to the minutest detail. 
This will account for a preponderance of the official testimony 
pertaining to the battles of the Atlanta campaign being taken from 
Federal sources. 

The part taken by Cheatham's corps in co-operating with 
Hardee from its position on the Confederate right furnishes an- 
other thrilling chapter in the battle of Atlanta. The chief interest 
in Cheatham's operations centers in the struggle for the posses- 
sion of Bald Hill and the capture and recapture of DeGress's Fed- 
eral battery posted close to the track of the Georgia railroad, in 
the same vicinity. Here the fighting was as fierce as any of the 
war, and but for timely reinforcements hurried up by Logan, who 
temporarily succeeded McPherson in command of the Army of 
the Tennessee, the Fifteenth corps of that army, and the Seven- 
teenth corps as well, would have been routed by the Confederates. 
As it was, these two corps were very severely handled. Cheat- 
ham succeeded in breaking the Federal lines and holding some of 
their positions for a short time, but was driven out by a heavy 
enfilade fire and compelled to fall back to his own works. Both 
sides lost heavily and many prisoners were taken. At a critical 
moment in the battle, the Seventeenth corps, occupying a line be- 
tween Bald Flill and the McDonough road, was in imminent peril 
of being captured entire. The Confederates attacked it in rear, 
flank and front. When it is considered that Hardee concentrated 
most of his force against the extreme Federal left, having his own 
left, as Hood says, almost within gunshot of the lines of Cheat- 
ham, the dangerous position of the Federal corps caught between 
the hostile lines will be readily understood. 

General Logan gives a very detailed account of the battle, 
from which the following important extracts are taken : "The 
rebel force. Hardee's corps, advancing rapidly, forced back the 
pickets of Giles A. Smith's division, and struck the left flank ex- 



The Battle Of Atlanta 407 

actly perpendicularly to his line of battle. At the same time a 
heavy fire was opened from batteries posted on a ridge in their 
rear, the fire being directed upon the rear of the Seventeenth 
Corps. Simultaneously with this attack the enemy emerged from 
the timber, in front and to the right of the Sixteenth Corps in 
three columns. It was evident that the movement was intended 
to strike the Seventeenth Corps on the flank and rear at the same 
time, and that the rebel commander was not aware of the pres- 
ence of General Sweeney's division in that part of the field. Gen- 
eral Dodge had at the first skirmishing put his Second Division, 
with two batteries of artillery, into line of battle, with Fuller's 
brigade on its right. The enemy moved upon the rear and right 
of the command of General Dodge. This movement exposed the 
flank of the enemy's column. General Dodge at once pushed for- 
ward two regiments, the Twelfth Illinois and Eighty-first Ohio, 
that delivered so destructive a fire on the enemy's flank that his 
column gave way. A charge was made, and the enemy fell back 
to the woods. General Dodge then withdrew his line a short dis- 
tance to the rear. Colonel Wangelin's brigade, of the Fifteenth 
Corps, about this time came up on the double-quick, and was at 
once engaged with the head of a column through the interval be- 
tween the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps, with the evident in- 
tention of striking the Seventeenth Corps in the rear of Leggett's 
division. Wangelin, although his brigade was small, threw it into 
line of battle, and, moving under a heavy fire, steadily pushed the 
enemy back and gained a slight elevation of ground, and con- 
structed a breastwork of rails. The Second Brigade, of the Fourth 
Division, Fifteenth Corps, was on the right of General Leggett's 
division, of the Seventeenth Corps. Being satisfied, from the di- 
rection of the firing', that the enemy was pushing a column through 
the interval before mentioned, as well as by the movement of 
wagons and artillery from that direction. General Walcutt, com- 
manding the brigade, changed his front to the left rear. The 
brigade was scarcely in position when a force of the enemy ap- 
peared in its front. The brigade became at once engaged, and 
repulsed the advancing line. The enemy re-formed and attacked 
the division of General Leggett. This gave General Walcutt an 
enfilading fire upon them, which he made very effective by opening 



408 Atlanta And Its Builders 

fire from a section of 24-pounder howitzers, belonging to the Sev- 
enteenth Corps. A 20-poimder Parrott, belonging to the Seven- 
teenth Corps, which was also abandoned, was retaken by the For- 
ty-sixth Ohio, under heavy fire. The division of Gen. Giles A. 
Smith, attacked on the flank and rear, was at once moved to the 
opposite side of their works. Its flank was partially driven in, and 
the enemy, by the rapidity of his assault and the heavy force with 
which it was made, swept away gnns and several hundred prison- 
ers. General Smith, although his flank was developed by the rebel 
mass thrown upon it, and in great clanger from the heavy 
columns thrown upon his rear, succeeded in forming his men on 
the reverse of his works, and, in conjunction with the operations 
of General Dodge, General Walcutt, and Colonel Wangelin, in 
checking the advance of the enemy. The attacking columns of the 
enemy advanced as far around as the rear of General Leggett's 
line. The division was at once placed on the outside of the works, 
and received and checked the assault successfully." 

General Logan, after giving an account of the fighting in 
Dodge's front, turns to the situation of the Seventeenth and Fif- 
teenth corps, attacked by Cheatham. He ordered Blair to hold Bald 
Hill at all hazards. He said he at once perceived that the greatest 
danger to the Union lines was from the wide interval between the 
Seventeenth and Sixteenth corps, which he attempted to fill at 
once by ordering up troops from another part of the field. He de- 
scribes the repeated assaults made by the Confederates before this 
weak line could be made secure, and the heroic resistance of the 
Seventeenth corps, particularly the division commanded by Gen. 
Giles A. Smith. He then describes the assaults upon the Fifteenth 
corps, later in the afternoon, and the hazardous position of Light- 
burn's division. It was during one of these assaults upon Light- 
burn that DeGress lost his famous Parrott battery. Logan says : 
"At this point was a deep railroad cut, on the right of which four 
guns of Battery A, First Illinois Artillery, were in position, and 
firing by the right oblique at the broken line of the enemy. Under 
the smoke of Battery A a rebel column marched rapidly by the 
flank up the main dirt road and through the deep cut of the rail- 
road and was in rear of our lines before the officers or men were 
aware of their intention. The division at once fell back, the greater 



The Battle Of Atlanta 409 

part halting in a ravine between the two lines, some, however, re- 
treating to the old line. Battery A and the 20-pounder guns at Bat- 
tery H, First Illinois Artillery, were left in the hands of the en- 
emy. The officers and men of both batteries fought with the great- 
est gallantry, serving their guns while they were surrounded by 
the enemy. At that time I was giving orders to General Dodge, 
having just ridden to his left, where General Cox's division, of 
the Twenty-third Corps, for which I had asked, had gone into po- 
sition, covering the Decatur road. The command of General 
Dodge was not engaged. I ordered Colonel Martin to move at 
double-quick back to his division, and also ordered General Dodge 
to send a brigade of the Sixteenth Corps to the assistance of the 
right of our line, at the same time directing him that in the event 
he needed support, to call upon General Cox, commanding" the di- 
vision of the Twenty-third Corps on his left. The Second Brigade 
of the Second Division of the Sixteenth Corps, Colonel Mersy 
commanding, moved promptly out, and I conducted it to the rear 
of the old works of the Second Division of the Fifteenth Army 
Corps, where it deployed on the right of the railroad. When I 
arrived. General Morgan L. Smith and General Lightburn were 
re-forming the lines of the Second Division, in a ravine between 
the two lines of works. I ordered General Smith, so soon as he 
could re-form his lines, to retake the position and the batteries 
which had been lost. General Woods, commanding the First Di- 
vision, which was on the right of the Second Division, finding his 
position untenable, the enemy occupying a position 300 or 400 
yards to his left and rear, threw back his left and rear, forming a 
line facing the enemy's flank, his right resting at the Howard 
house. At the same time. Major Landgraeber, chief of artillery 
of the First Division, who had six guns in position, moved them 
into the open field and opened fire upon the enemy, compelling 
him to seek shelter, killing the horses of De Cress's battery, and 
preventing the enemy from removing the guns. General Woods 
then moved his First Brigade forward, attacking the enemy in 
flank and rear, and his Second Brigade attacking in flank and 
front. At the same time the Second Division, followed at a short 
distance by Colonel Mersy's brigade, advanced upon the enemy's 
front. The movement was successful. Woods's division striking 



4io Atlanta And Its Builders 

the enemy's flank, it began to break, and soon afterward the Sec- 
ond Division charging his front, the line of works, DeGress's bat- 
tery, and 2 guns of Battery A were recaptured. General Woods 
swung his left around, and the whole line of the First and Second 
Divisions was reoccupied with no opposition, except a fierce as- 
sault upon the Fourth Iowa, which was repulsed. 

"While this was occurring on the center and right of the 
Fifteenth Corps, the enemy appeared in the rear of Colonel Wil- 
liams's (First) brigade, of the Fourth Division. Being threat- 
ened in front and rear. Colonel Williams retired his brigade to the 
lines held in the morning. Colonel Oliver withdrew the Third 
Brigade. Major Hotaling, of my staff, ordered General Harrow 
to retake the position which had been abandoned. The line was 
reoccupied about the same time with the reoccupation of the works 
of the Second Division. It was now nearly 5 o'clock, and, with 
the exception of two regiments' front on the extreme left, the 
whole of the main line of the Army of Tennessee was in its pos- 
session, notwithstanding the repeated and desperate assaults of 
the enemy. His last and final efforts were made upon the Fourth 
Division of the Seventeenth Corps. His assault is described by 
the officers engaged as the fiercest and most persistent engagement 
of the day. The attack was made from the east. The enemy 
formed in, and moved through, the woods, which covered their 
approach at some points within twenty yards of our breast-works. 
The men again fought from the reverse of their works. Under 
a most destructive fire from the Fourth Division and two detached 
regiments from the Third Division, the enemy moved directly up 
to our works, and a deadly battle took place. 'Regimental com- 
manders, with their colors, with such men as would follow them, 
would not infrequently occupy one side of the works, and our men 
the other. Many individual acts of heroism occurred. The flags 
of opposing regiments would meet on the opposite sides of the 
same work, and would be flaunted by their respective bearers in 
each other's faces ; men were bayoneted across the works, and 
officers, with their swords, fought hand to hand with men with 
bayonets.' The colonel of the Forty-fifth Alabama was pulled 
bv his coat collar over the works and made a prisoner. This ter- 
rible contest lasted for three-quarters of an hour, and the division 



The Baltic Of Atlanta 411 

still held nearly the whole of its ground. About 6 another force 
advanced from the direction of Atlanta. General Smith had 
scarcely changed position to the east side of his works, when the 
enemy opened upon his left and rear a heavy fire of musketry and 
artillery, and he was compelled to abandon another portion of his 
works. Falling' back a short distance, he formed a line perpen- 
dicular to his line of works. The column moving from the west 
enfiladed this line, and he was compelled to swing his right still 
farther back. General Leggett moved out his Second Brigade in 
a line parallel to that which General Smith then held. Colonel 
Wangelin's brigade, of the First Division of the Fifteenth Corps, 
moved forward, and a new line was formed with the Second 
Brigade of the Third Divsion, Seventeenth Corps, on the right, 
the Fourth Division of the Seventeenth Corps the center, and the 
Third Brigade of the First Division of the Fifteenth Corps on the 
left. This was the line I had indicated in my orders to General 
Blair. It extended to the crest of Bald Hill, which two regiments 
of the Seventeenth Corps, the Eleventh Iowa and Sixteenth Wis- 
consin, held behind an angle of the works, the enemy holding the 
same works a little below, four of their colors planted within a 
stone's throw of the Eleventh Iowa. Upon this line the enemy 
made an attack in very heavy force. The battle was very severe. 
Colonel Wangelin moved his left around, advanced upon the 
enemy's flank, and gave the enemy a decided check. The battle 
at this point closed after dark, and our troops held the field. The 
enemy retired in the night, after removing the greater part of their 
wounded. Their dead were left on the field. 

"General Flood's tactics seem to have been to concentrate 
during the afternoon and night of the 21st the corps of Hardee 
and Cheatham near the position of the Army of the Tennessee, 
and at an early hour in the morning to withdraw from the works 
in its front to his main intrenchments, and, while the Army of the 
Tennessee was being advanced to his abandoned line, and before 
the works could be reversed, to attack our left and rear with one 
corps, and with the other one right from the front. That he did 
not succeed was due, in my judgment, to the lateness of the hour 
at which the attack was made, a lack of concert in his movements, 
the opportune presence of a portion of the Sixteenth Corps in the 



412 Atlanta And Its Builders 

rear of the left of our line, but more than all these to the splendid 
bravery and tenacity of the men and the ability and skill of the 
officers of the Army of the Tennessee." 

Logan places the losses of the Army of the Tennessee in this 
engagement at 3,722, divided as follows : Fifteenth Corps, 
1,067; Sixteenth, 854; Seventeenth, 1,801. He reported the loss 
of 12 pieces of artillery, and the capture of 18 stands of colors, 
5.000 stands of small arms, and, in addition to a large number of 
wounded left on the field, including 33 officers of rank. 1,017 
prisoners. General Logan reported more than 3,000 dead Con- 
federates found upon the field and either buried by the Union sol- 
diers or turned over under a flag of truce to the enemy. By his 
estimate, the number of Confederate wounded was enormous. 

Captain Francis De Gress tells of the operations of his bat- 
tery on the 22d of July, as follows : "Advanced on the 20th, tak- 
ing up position several times during the day and engaging rebel 
batteries. At 1 o'clock fired three shells into Atlanta at a distance 
of two miles and a half, the first ones of the war. On the 21st 
went into position (under protest) with a range of only ten yards, 
and in front of our line of works, by order of Brig.-Gen. M. L. 
Smith. July 22, advanced again, and occupying the works evacu- 
ated by the enemy the night previous. I went into position at the 
extreme right of our division to engage three rebel batteries which 
were firing at our advancing columns ; was ordered to keep up 
a continuous fire. There was a gap of at least 800 yards between 
my battery and the First Division, which fact I reported several 
times. The enemy charged our works about 4 p. m. ; was repulsed 
in my front, but broke through our center, and changing front 
charged my battery, which I was obliged to leave after spiking 
the guns, and after all my support had left me. As soon as my 
battery was recaptured I had the guns unspiked and fired again at 
the retreating enemy. One of my guns, injured since the 25th of 
June, burst at the third round. My losses on that day were very 
heavy — 14 men, 39 horses, 1 limber, ambulance, and harness. 
Replaced lost horses and harness from Battery A, and had battery 
in marching order by 9 o'clock the following day." 

DeGress's guns were with the Second Brigade, Second Divi- 
sion, Fifteenth Army Corps, at the time they were lost. Colonel 



The Baltic Of Atlanta 413 

Wells S. Jones was in command of the brigade. His report tells 
of the capture of the guns by intimation rather than assertion. He 
says : "My instructions from General Lightburn were that I 
would soon be attacked, and that I could either retire to the main 
line of works there or wait until I was compelled to retreat. I 
gave orders to the two regiments under my command, the Fifty- 
third Ohio and One Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Volunteers, 
together with the section of artillery, to remain in the position 
they then occupied until our skirmishers were driven in, and then 
to open fire on the enemy, and hold their position until the enemy 
appeared to be flanking us. We had fired but a short time when 
I saw the enemy to our left and rear advancing in heavy force. 
I ordered the artillery to fall back to the main works and followed 
it with the infantry. When I entered our works I found the 
Second Brigade in the works on the north side of the railroad, 
with its left resting on the railroad. All the regiments were 
placed in the front line but seven companies of the Fifty-third and 
two companies of the Forty-seventh Ohio, which were placed in 
reserve. Very soon the entire front line became engaged. The 
enemy were found to be steadily approaching our works and the 
reserve companies w r ere all ordered forward into the works. The 
enemy soon seemed to fall back from the right and center of the 
brigade, but about this time moved a heavy force up the road, and 
got another column into the railroad cut. The smoke from our 
battery, it being near the road, entirely hid them now from our 
view until they were crossing the works on each side of the bat- 
tery. Soon after this the head of their column began to emerge 
from the railroad cut, about seventy-five yards in our rear. The 
men near the road being no longer able to hold their position fell 
back in considerable confusion. I attempted to form a line on my 
right, but I could not succeed. After failing in that I tried to 
form line in the low ground, about 400 yards from the works, but 
could succeed in getting but a few men together. I determined 
then to not attempt to re-form until we reached the works we had 
left in the morning. I gave orders accordingly. After gathering 
up all men we could find we advanced again to retake our works. 
I advanced part of my line nearly to the works, but was driven 
back some 400 yards. We soon again advanced and retook our 



414 Atlanta And Its Builders 

works, turning the artillery that the enemy had taken from us on 
them, and capturing some 80 prisoners. Our loss is as follows : 
Commssioned officers killed, 1; enlisted men, 20; commissioned 
officers wounded, 4; enlisted men, 90; commissioned officers miss- 
ing, 6; enlisted men, 204. Most of the missing were undoubtedly 
taken prisoners. About 600 muskets were picked up by my 
brigade in its front." 

Technically, however, Colonel Jones did not retake his own 
guns. The honor belongs to Colonel Mersy's brigade of General 
Sweeney's division of the Sixteenth Corps, which had been ordered 
from Dodge's line of battle and personally conducted by General 
Logan to the cut in the railroad near where DeGress's battery was 
posted. Colonel Mersy was wounded just before his command 
made the charge, and turned over the command to Colonel R. N. 
Adams. The following extract is taken from Colonel Adams's 
report : "At 2 p. m. the regiment was ordered, with the brigade, 
to a position on the right of the Augusta and Atlanta Railroad. 
Moving in double-quick time a distance of one mile and a quar- 
ter, the brigade was then formed in line of battle, Sixty-sixth 
Illinois on the right. Eighty-first Ohio in the center, and the 
Twelfth Illinois on the left, resting on the railroad. A charge 
was then ordered and made by the entire brigade, resulting in the 
retaking of a line of works from which the Second Brigade, Sec- 
ond Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, had been previously driven, 
and the recapture of four 20-pounder Parrott guns, of Captain 
DeGress's battery, and a large number of small arms. In this 
charge the Eighty-first Ohio captured 29 prisoners, making the 
total number of prisoners captured by the regiment during the 
day 255." 

There was considerable controversy over the honor of re- 
capturing this battery, as several brigades charged simultaneously 
and jointly drove the Confederates away. Colonel Adams, in a 
newspaper letter, after the war, gave this account of his work that 
day: "I at once gave the command, 'Forward!' The brigade 
crossed the fence, and at 'trail arms' advanced under a moderate 
fire toward the line to be taken. On emerging from the ravine, 
and beginning the ascent of the hill, the enemy opened anew upon 
us, whereupon I gave the order, 'Charge!' and in apparently less 



The Battle Of Atlanta 4I> - 

than half a minute the line was ours. We captured some of the 
men who were manning the DeGress onus, and about fifty men 
m the works, who fired until they were captured. Among these 
was the only colored man I saw during the war shooting the 
wrong way. He was game ; he fired till he was taken. I detailed 
men at once to man the recovered guns, but found them partly 
disabled. I am not sure, but my impression is that this detail 
succeeded in discharging one of the pieces. At any rate they 
were endeavoring to use them when Captain DeGress and' some 
of Ins men came and took charge of the recovered guns." 

Brigadier-General M. D. Leggett, who held Bald Hill against 
repeated attempts to take it on the 22d, describes his operations 
as follows : "About noon of the 22c\ I discovered that the enemy 
had got to our rear and were engaging the Sixteenth Army Corps 
while making efforts to close upon the left of our corps, while still 
a gap of half a mile on the left of the Fourth Division was only 
guarded by a skirmish line. The enemy broke through this gap 
and in a few moments came in heavy force ( Cleburne's division 
of Hardee's corps) upon my rear, moving over the same ground 
and in the same direction that I had on the day before. I imme- 
diately put my men upon the other side of their works, their faces 
to the east and their backs toward Atlanta. The enemy came upon 
us with demoniac yells, but were met with a cool, deliberate and 
well-aimed fire that soon checked their advance, caused them to 
stagger, and then retire in confusion. Those who reached our 
works were made prisoners. They soon rallied, re-formed, and 
again advanced upon us in the same direction and with the same 
results. In these two attacks they were punished very severely, 
leaving a very large number of killed and wounded on the ground.' 
A lull of some twenty minutes occurred at this time, after which 
our skirmishers toward Atlanta were driven in, followed closely 
by a heavy force which advanced with yells. My men were placed 
upon the east side of their works and met the charge as they had 
the others and repulsed the rebels beautifully. They were rallied 
and again advanced and again repulsed. Soon a heavy column 
(Cheatham's division, Hardee's corps) moved directly upon the 
left flank of the Fourth Division, which compelled it' to change 
front and leave its works. As the approaching column advanced 



416 Atlanta And Its Builders 

and readied to the vicinity of my left, T caused the Second Brigade 
of my command to follow the movements of the Fourth Division, 
but with the positive injunction that 'the hill must be retained at 
all hazards and at whatever cost.' The Second Brigade was then 
formed with its right resting upon the hill and its left upon the 
Fourth Division, facing south. This change of front was exe- 
cuted under a heavy fire of musketry, and of grape and canister, 
and in the face of a rapidly advancing force of fresh troops, com- 
posed probably of the enemy's best fighting men — Cheatham's 
division. Our men were greatly fatigued with about five hours' 
hard fighting, and were now obliged to meet the enemy in the 
open field without protecting works of any kind whatever, except 
a portion of the First Brigade, on the hill. In this part of the day 
our troops showed their true soldierly qualities. They stood like 
rocks of adamant, and received the repeated charges of the enemy 
without yielding an inch. The engagement here became finally 
a hand-to-hand conflict, the sword, the bayonet, and even the fist, 
were freely and effectively used, and the enemy repulsed with 
a slaughter T never before witnessed. This conflict ended the 
day. My officers and men behaved with determined bravery." 

General Blair, commanding the Seventeenth Corps, occupy- 
ing Sherman's extreme left, said of the grand assault by Hood 
upon that wing: "It was a most fortunate circumstance for the 
whole army that the Sixteenth Corps occupied the position I have 
attempted to describe at the moment of the attack, and although 
it does not belong to. me to report upon the bearing and conduct 
of the officers and men of that corps, still I cannot withhold my 
expressions of admiration for the manner in which this command 
met and repulsed the repeated and persistent attacks of the 
enemy." 

It is with regret that the present editor acknowledges his 
inability to reproduce Confederate reports touching the most 
notable achievements of Hardee's and Cheatham's gallant troops 
in the battle of Atlanta. Very little official data was available on 
that side. Almost the sole exception is the following extract from 
the report of Brigadier-General Go van, of Cleburne's Division, 
Hardee's Corps, which narrates one of the most brilliant charges 
of the day. which resulted in the capture of a Federal battery and 
line of works : 



The Battle Of Atlanta 417 

"We now soon came upon our skirmishers, who had halted 
under fire from the enemy's works, and the engagement began at r 
p. m. The intrenchments of the enemy facing Atlanta extended 
along the road upon which we advanced. Contrary to our ex- 
pectation and information we encountered other works almost 
perpendicular to these, and designed to protect him from the very 
movement we were then making. These consisted of two lines 
of breast-works — the first about 200 yards in length, the second 
in its rear and reaching farther to our right, each having in front 
an almost impassable abatis, formed by cutting down the thick 
undergrowth of small oaks. A line of battle occupied the ground 
in front of my right upon the extension of the line of works. The 
two Napoleon guns before alluded to were upon the right of the 
first work, and swept the road and the woods upon either side. 
My left, the First and Fifteenth, the Second and Twenty-fourth, 
and half of the Fifth and Thirteenth Arkansas Regiments, came 
full upon these formidable intrenchments. The men charged to 
within thirty paces of them, and sustained for fifteen or twenty 
minutes the withering fire which was poured upon them, at the 
same time making their way through the abatis to the enemy. 
At length the enemy ceased firing and called upon my men to stop 
also, saying they surrendered, while some of them aimed their 
guns and were only prevented from firing by their comrades, who 
preferred to end the fighting. At this juncture, a portion of the 
Second and Twenty-fourth Arkansas advanced to the works to 
receive the surrender, when the Federals, who filled the trenches, 
seeing the fewness of their numbers, took them prisoners. The 
enemy made a dash upon my center and for a moment checked 
the advance, when Colonel Murray, Fifth Arkansas, collected his 
men and gallantly charged them back. Meanwhile the right, con- 
sisting of half the Fifth and Thirteenth, the Eighth and Nine- 
teenth, and the Sixth and Seventh Arkansas Regiments, had ad- 
vanced beyond the flank of the enemy's works, and had driven be- 
fore it the line there opposed, the Sixth and Seventh and the 
Eighth and Nineteenth capturing a battery of 6 Napoleon guns, 
which before that time had been vigorously used against us. 

"Perceiving that the right had passed on, and that the work 
was not yet done upon the left, where my small force was liable 

27-1' 



4i 8 Atlanta And Its Builders 

to be overpowered by the large number whom they thought to 
capture, 1 directed the right to change direction to the left, in 
order to take them in flank and rear. This was promptly and 
opportunely done, and compelled the immediate surrender of all 
who did not take flight in the confusion. This timely success 
rescued those of the Second and Twenty-fourth Arkansas who 
had been entrapped, and the officers of this command now re- 
ceived the swords of their late captors. In making the move- 
ment to the left a portion of the Sixth and Seventh Arkansas 
swept around and reached the open field across which the brigade 
charged later in the evening. The First and Fifteenth Arkansas 
took the 2 guns which were placed upon the road. The whole af- 
fair was gallantly, brilliantly executed, and has never been ex- 
celled in dash and spirit by any previous action of these veteran 
soldiers." 

Few of the citizens of Atlanta know to this day that an 
evacuation of the city by the Confederate troops was contemplated 
on the night before the battle of Atlanta was fought. Brigadier- 
General Wright, commanding Atlanta, received the following 
orders from Flood's headquarters, dated July 2ist: "I am di- 
rected to inform you that you must be prepared to-night for an 
evacuation of Atlanta, should it become necessary. You will, 
therefore, without saying anything about it, be prepared to move 
when Lieutenant-General Stewart's troops move into town, should 
the evacuation take place." 

On the night of the 22d General Hood sent the following dis- 
patch to Richmond : "The army shifted its position last night, 
fronting Peachtree Creek, and formed line of battle around the 
city with Stewart's and Cheatham's corps. General Hardee, with 
his corps, made a night march and attacked the enemy's extreme 
left at i o'clock to-day; drove him from his works, capturing 16 
pieces of artillery and 5 stands of colors. Major-General Cheat- 
ham attacked the enemy at 4 p. m. with a portion of his command ; 
drove the enemy, capturing 6 pieces of artillery. During the en- 
gagements we captured about 2,000 prisoners, but loss not fully 
ascertained. Major-General Walker killed ; Brigadier-Generals 
Smith, Gist, and Mercer wounded. Our troops fought with great 
gallantry." 



The Battle Of Atlanta 419 

On the 23d Hood sent the following supplementary dispatch : 
"In the engagement of yesterday we captured 18 stands of colors 
instead of 5, and 13 guns instead of 12, as previously reported. 
Brigadier-General Mercer not wounded. All quiet to-day except 
skirmishing, and the enemy occasionally throwing shell into the 
city. The army is in good spirits." 

The battle of Atlanta was at first regarded as a great Con- 
federate victory throughout the Confederacy. In a letter to Presi- 
dent Davis on the 23d, General Lee refers to it with exultation. 
There was great rejoicing throughout Dixie and Hood became 
a popular hero. On the 23d Hood wired Governor Brown at 
Macon : "The state troops under Major-General Smith fought 
with great gallantry in the action of yesterday . " To which Gov- 
ernor Brown replied : 

"I am proud to hear of the gallant conduct of the state troops. 
Thousands of others have now assembled in response to my call, 
and will be armed and sent forward as rapidly as possible, who 
upon the soil of their beloved state will strike with equal valor 
for the defense of their wives and their children, their homes and 
their altars. I assure you of the most energetic co-operation with 
all the aid in my power. May God grant you success and aid to 
drive the invaders from the soil of the Confederacy." 

General Hood replied : "I need all the aid Georgia can 
furnish. Please send me men with muskets as fast as possible." 

General Braxton Bragg, who had returned to Atlanta from 
Alabama, sent this message to President Davis on the 25th : "The 
moral effect of our brilliant affair of the 22d has been admirable 
on our troops, and I am happy to say our loss was small in com- 
parison to the enemy's. He was badly defeated and completely 
failed in one of his bold flank movements, heretofore so success- 
ful. Lieutenant-General Lee will probably arrive to-morrow, 
when I may return to Montgomery to see General Maury and hear 
from General Smith." 

On the morning of the battle of Atlanta, Sherman, discover- 
ing the trenches that had been occupied by Hardee to be unoccu- 
pied, jumped to the conclusion that Atlanta had been evacuated. 
Schofield was first to make this erroneous report, and word was 
passed to the grand divisions of the army that Schofield was in 



420 Atlanta And Its Builders 

possession of the enemy's main line of works around the city. 
Sherman was so sure that Atlanta was his that he ordered his 
corps commanders to pursue Hood south without delay. He sent 
word to Howard not to enter the city, but to join in the pursuit. 
In view of the momentous events on the 22(1, the extent to which 
this mistake was carried is remarkable. It nearly resulted in the 
whole Federal army shifting" its position and beginning a wild 
goose chase away from Atlanta. The following order to Logan 
from McPherson, sent at 6 o'clock on the morning of the 22d, 
when Hardee was preparing to fall upon the Army of the Ten- 
nessee from the rear, will show how near the Federals came to 
serious disaster as a result of their misinformation : "The enemy 
having evacuated their works in front of our lines, the supposition 
of Major-General Sherman is that they have given up Atlanta and 
are retreating in the direction of East Point. You will imme- 
diately put your command in pursuit, passing to the south and 
east of Atlanta, without entering the town. You will keep a route 
to the left of that taken by the enemy, and try to cut off a portion 
of them while they are pressed in rear and on our right by Gen- 
erals Schofield and Thomas. Major-General Sherman desires and 
expects a vigorous pursuit." 

The army telegrapher reported to his chief at the war depart- 
ment, Washington, on the night of the 22d, as follows: "At day- 
light to-day it was found that the rebels had gone from entire 
front, and General Sherman announced the occupation of Atlanta 
by Schofield, and ordered pursuit by Thomas and McPherson. 
Vigorous pursuit was made, and the enemy was found in the 
fortifications of Atlanta, and not Schofield. We hold road to 
within two miles and a half of center of place, and that is about 
the average distance of whole line, though Schofield and Dodge 
are nearer. Fighting has been severe, and we have lost General 
McPherson, killed by shot through lungs while on a reconnais- 
sance. It is thought that enemy will be gone in the morning, as 
they have attacked and been repulsed since dark. Hood fights 
his graybacks desperately.'* 

On the morning of the 23d Sherman sent the following re- 
port of the great battle to Washington : 

"Yesterday morning the enemy fell back to the intrench- 
nients proper of the city of Atlanta, which are in a general circle 



The Battle Of Atlanta 421 

of a radius of one mile and a half, and we closed in. While we 
were forming our lines and selecting' positions for hatteries, the 
enemy appeared suddenly out of the dense woods in heavy masses 
on our extreme left, and struck the Seventeenth Corps (General 
Blair's) in flank, and was forcing it hack, when the Sixteenth 
Corps (General Dodge's) came up and checked the movement, but 
the enemy's cavalry got well to our rear and into Decatur, and for 
some hours our left flank was completely enveloped. The fight- 
ing that resulted was continuous until night, with heavy loss on 
both sides. The enemy took one of our batteries (Murray's, of 
the Regular Army) that was marching in its place in column on 
the road unconscious of danger. About 4 p. m. the enemy sallied 
against the division of General Morgan L. Smith, which occupied 
an abandoned line of rifle-trenches near the railroad, east of the 
city, and forced it back some 400 yards, leaving in his hands for 
the time two batteries, but the ground and batteries were imme- 
diately after recovered by the same troops, reinforced. I cannot 
well approximate our loss, which fell heaviest on the Fifteenth and 
Seventeenth Corps, but count it 3,000; but I know that, being on 
the defensive, we have inflicted equally heavy loss on the enemy. 
General McPherson, when arranging his troops, about 11 a. m., 
and passing from one column to another, unconsciously rode upon 
an ambuscade without apprehension and at some distance ahead of 
his staff and orderlies and was shot dead. His body was sent in 
charge of his personal staff back to Marietta and Chattanooga. 
His loss at that moment was most serious, but General Logan at 
once arranged the troops, and bad immediate direction of them 
during the rest of the day. Our left, though refused somewhat, 
is still within easy cannon-range of Atlanta. The enemy seems to 
man his extensive parapets and, at the same time, has to spare 
heavy assaulting columns; but to-day we will intrench our front 
lines, which will give me troops to spare to meet these assaults. I 
cannot hear of the loss of more than a few wagons, taken by the 
enemy's cavalry during his temporary pause in Decatur, whence 
all the trains had been securely removed to the rear of the main 
army, under cover of a brigade of infantry, commanded by Col- 
onel Sprague. During the heavy attack on the left, the remainder 
of the line was not engaged." 



CHAPTER XXIX 

THE MOVEMENT TO THE WEST 

Sherman says that his only motive in swinging the Army of 
the Tennessee around to the east of Atlanta was to effectually 
break the Augusta railroad. There are reasons to believe that 
originally he intended accomplishing much more on his left, 
believing, as he stated in so many words, that Atlanta could be 
entered by his troops from that quarter in a few days, and its 
evacuation compelled. Besides, there is abundant evidence that 
Sherman had his eye on the Macon railroad when McPherson 
was extending his left, and meant to gradually swing around on 
that flank and envelop it, or at least make himself so strong there 
that Garrard could swing to the south of Atlanta, upon his return 
from his raid on Covington, and break the Macon road as well. 
The battle of the 22d of July dashed these hopes to the ground. 
Hardee still held the Union army in check by strengthening the 
position he had secured by his "Jacksonian march," and Wheeler 
lost no time in taking Garrard's trail. Whatever Sherman's real 
intentions, there was no gainsaying that he had accomplished the 
destruction of the Augusta railroad for a distance of thirty or 
forty miles. Had the battle of Atlanta been fought a day earlier, 
Hood might possibly have succeeded in saving that road and 
diverted operations to the vicinity of Decatur for some weeks. 
He had intended for Hardee to make his night march on the night 
following the battle of Peachtree Creek, but that commander 
reported his troops too fatigued to leave their position until the 
following night. 

There was much activity among the several cavalry com- 
mands of the federals. General Rousseau made a raid on the 
Atlanta and West Point railroad in Alabama, reporting on his 
arrival at Marietta on the 22d that he had destroyed the Confed- 

422 



The Movement To The West 423 

erate depot of stores at Opelika and thoroughly broken 30 miles 
of the road toward Montgomery, three miles toward Columbus, 
and two toward West Point. He captured a number of prisoners 
and 700 horses and mules. General Garrard's raid on Coving- 
ton was successful, Wheeler having been relieved from his posi- 
tion on Hardee's flank too late to enable him to overtake the 
Federal raider. Garrard's work is best described by reproducing 
a portion of his report, as follows : "My dispositions were such 
as to enable me to take every point by surprise and insure my safe 
return, with a loss of only two killed. Results : Three road 
bridges and one railroad bridge (555 feet in length) over the 
Ulcofauhachee, were burned. Six miles of railroad track be- 
tween the rivers were well destroyed. The depot and consider- 
able quantity of quartermaster and commissary stores at Coving- 
ton were burnt. One train and locomotive captured at Conyers 
and burnt. On train (platform) was burnt at Covington, and a 
small train (baggage) at station near the Ulcofauhachee captured 
and burnt. The engine to the last train was detached across the 
river. Citizens report a passenger train and a construction train, 
both with engines, cut off between Stone Mountain and Yellow 
River. Over 2,000 bales of cotton were burnt. A large new 
hospital at Covington, for the accommodation of 10,000 patients 
from this army and the Army of Virginia, composed of over 30 
buildings besides the offices, just finished, were burnt, together 
with a very large lot of fine carpenters' tools used in their erection. 
In the town of Oxford, two miles north of Covington, and in 
Covington was over 1,000 sick and wounded in buildings used 
for hospitals. The convalescents able to walk scattered through 
the woods while the firing was going on in town, and I did not 
have time to hunt them up before dark. Those in hospital, to- 
gether with their surgeons, were not disturbed." 

Garrard brought back some 200 prisoners and several hun- 
dred negroes. He was gone but two days, covering in that time 
90 miles of road. After Garrard's return, Stoneman was sent on 
an expedition to break the Macon road in the vicinity of McDon- 
ough. Inasmuch as Stoneman's raid on Macon furnishes one of 
the most lively incidents of the Atlanta campaign, some of his 
correspondence with Sherman before setting out on his ill-fated 



424 Atlanta And Its Builders 

expedition will prove of interest. He was anxious to be allowed 
to raid Andersonville before returning to Atlanta and release the 
large body of Federal prisoners held in the historic stockade 
there. His note to Sherman asking permission, and the latter's 
consent, both dated the 26th of July, follow. Stoneman wrote : 

"In case we succeed in carrying out your wishes will it meet 
your approbation, should I see a good opening, if I should with a 
portion of the command make a dash on Macon and by a vigorous 
stroke release the prisoners (officers) now at that point, and 
afterward to go on to Americus and release those (privates) 
there? I would like to try it, and am willing to run any risks, and 
I can vouch for my little command. Now is the time to do it 
before the rebel army falls back and covers that country, and I 
have every inducement to try it. If we accomplish the desired 
object it will compensate for the loss as prisoners of us all, and I 
should feel compensated for almost any sacrifice." 

Sherman replied: "1 have received your letter of July 26, 
asking permission after breaking good the railroad below McDon- 
(iiigh to push on [to Macon], release the officers there, and after- 
ward to go to Anderson [ville] and release the men confined 
there. I see many difficulties, but as you say, even a chance of 
success will warrant the effort, and I consent to it. You may, 
after having fulfilled my present orders, send General Garrard 
back to the left flank of the army, and proceed with your com- 
mand proper to accomplish both or either of the objects named. 
1 will keep the army busy, so that you shall have nothing to con- 
tend with but the cavalry, and if you can bring back to the army 
any or all those prisoners of war it will be an achievement that 
will entitle you and the men of your command to the love and 
admiration of the whole country. Be careful to break telegraph 
wire and railroad when and where you go, especially the tele- 
graph, as it will prevent the enemy following your movement." 

On the morning of the 25th General Sherman sent to Wash- 
ington what he considered to be the results of the battle of At- 
lanta. He said : "I find it difficult to make prompt report of 
results coupled with some data or information without occasional- 
ly making some mistakes. General McPherson's sudden death, 
and General Logan succeeding to the command, as it were, in the 



The Movement To The West 425 

midst of battle, made some confusion on our extreme left, but it 
soon recovered and made sad havoc with the enemy, who had 
practiced one of his favorite games of attacking our left when in 
motion and before it had time to cover its weak end. After rid- 
ing over the ground and hearing the varying statements of the 
actors on that flank, I directed General Logan to make me an 
official report of the actual results, and I herewith inclose it. 
Though the number of dead rebels seems excessive, I am disposed 
to give full credit to the report that our loss, though only 3,521 
killed, wounded, and missing, the enemy's dead alone on the field 
nearly equal that number, viz., 3,240. Happening at that point of 
the line when a Hag of truce was sent in to ask permission for each 
party to bury its dead, I gave General Logan authority to permit 
a temporary truce on that flank alone, while our labors and fight- 
ing proceeded at all others. I also send you a copy of General 
Garrard's report of the breaking of railroad toward Augusta. 
Now I am grouping my command to attack the Macon road, and 
with that view will intrench a strong line of circumvallation and 
flanks, so as to have as large an infantry column to co-operate as 
possible with all the cavalry to swing round to the south and east 
to control that road at or below East Point." 

While Stoneman moved out to protect Garrard on his return 
from Covington, Rosseau and McCook took his place on 
Thomas's right. Sherman ordered Thomas to relieve the pres- 
sure on Logan's left by an actual attack or strong demonstration 
against the north side of Atlanta, on the morning of the 23d. 
He said he supposed Hood would keep up his attack in Logan's 
front so long as Garrard remained out. When Sherman was 
satisfied that Hood would not renew the battle, he sent this mes- 
sage to Logan : "I have this moment returned from an examina- 
tion of our entire line. You know your own. The balance ex- 
tends in a circle at about 1,000 yards distant from the enemv's 
lines, as far as Proctor's Creek, the whole of Palmer's corps being 
east and south of the railroad. All have covered parapets so that 
the enemy will not attempt a sally. The question now is. What 
next? I will in person explain all that is necessary to produce the 
result aimed at as soon as General Garrard returns. You need 
not apprehend a renewal of the attack on the part of the enemv, 



426 Atlanta And Its Builders 

but should, on the contrary, begin to feel out with skirmishers and 
supports into the woods east of Giles Smith's division and 
Dodge's corps. In the morning early let Woods's division move 
into Decatur, stay awhile, and return. Let details of men and 
pioneers begin at your very front and break up and destroy the 
railroad absolutely back to and including Decatur. Until we 
conclude upon the best manner of reducing Atlanta we cannot be 
better employed than in rendering the Atlanta and Augusta road 
useless ; especially have the iron rails heated and twisted. I want 
your skirmishers to feel out early to-morrow in front of Dodge 
for a double purpose — to hold on that flank the cavalry of 
Wheeler, while we operate on Thomas's flank and create a diver- 
sion for Garrard, now on his return from his expedition." 

The necessity for a strong demonstration or attack by 
Thomas not arising by reason of the inactivity of the enemy 
toward Decatur, that commander contented himself with menac- 
ing the works in his front by strong skirmish lines. He demon- 
strated the presence of the Confederates in force in the position 
held by Stewart's corps. Sherman's next proposed move was a 
radical one, and awaited only the return and readiness of his 
cavalry to put it in execution. His plan was to move the Army 
of the Tennessee from its position on the left to the right of 
Thomas, from where it was to gradually press to the south of 
Atlanta and gain possession of the Macon road at or near East 
Point. In order that the reader may get an adequate idea of 
Sherman's purpose, his own words to Logan on the 24th are 
quoted below : 

"The only object in placing the Army of the Tennessee on 
that flank was to reach and destroy the railroad from Atlanta 
toward Augusta. This is partially done, and the work of de- 
struction should be continued as far as possible. I wish to keep 
one division or more employed day and night breaking and burn- 
ing the road until General Garrard returns. I feel no doubt but 
that he has succeeded in breaking the bridges across the Yellow 
River and the Ulcofauhachee, but he may have to fight his way 
back, and to relieve him I wish you to push your skirmishers out 
from General Dodge's front of General Blair's left, as though 
you were going to push your way to the east of Atlanta toward 



The Movement To The West 427 

the Augusta road. To keep up this delusion, you should send a 
column cautiously down one of those roads or valleys southeast, 
and engage the enemy outside his works, but not behind his 
trenches. As soon as General Garrard is back you can discon- 
tinue all such demonstrations and prepare for your next move. 
I propose to give you timely notice to send your wagons behind 
General Thomas and then to move your army behind the present 
line to the extreme right, to reach, if possible, the Macon road, 
which you know to be the only road by which Atlanta can be 
supplied. This will leave General Schofield the left flank, which 
will be covered by the works he has constructed on his front, and 
he can use the abandoned trenches of the enemy to cover his left 
rear. You will no longer send your wagons by Roswell, but by 
Buck Head and Pace's Ferry, and when you change you will draw 
from the railroad bridge, to which our cars now run, and at which 
point we are making a pier bridge, as also two of pontoons. 
General Stoneman will surely be at Decatur to-day, and we will 
have two divisions of cavalry on our right, viz.. General Mc- 
Cook's and [Colonel] Harrison's (General Rousseau's). Act 
with confidence. Know that the enemy cannot budge you from 
your present ground, and act offensively to show him that you 
dare him to the encounter. You can understand that being on 
the defensive he cannot afford to sally unless at great peril. 
General Schofield has so strengthened his front that I feel no 
uneasiness about that flank, and only study now to make the next 
move so quickly that we may reach East Point or vicinity with as 
little loss as possible." 

On the 25th Sherman sent this message to Grant at Peters- 
burg: "Your dispatch of the 21st did not come until to-day. 
Johnston is relieved and Hood commands. Hood has made two 
attempts to strike hard since we crossed the Chattahoochee, and 
both times got more than he bargained for. No doubt he expects 
to cut to my rear, but I have already cut to his rear, having broken 
his Augusta road out for fifty miles, and his Southern road at 
Opelika. None remains to him but the Macon road, and I think 
I will have that soon. I should rather that Hood should fight it 
out at Atlanta than to retreat farther toward Macon. If you 
can keep away reinforcements all well. My army is all in hand, 
and rear well guarded." 



428 Atlanta And Its Builders 

On the 26th General Howard was assigned to command the 
Army of the Tennessee, vice McPherson, deceased. This ap- 
pointment somewhat disgruntled Logan, who amply deserved the 
honor. He felt that he should have been allowed to hold the 
temporary command until the end of the campaign. General 
Logan's conduct during the battle of Atlanta, and no less during 
the subsequent battle of Ezra church, won great admiration. 
General Hooker, the hero of the battle of Lookout Mountain, and 
one of the most gallant fighters in the whole Union army, took 
Howard's appointment over his head so much to heart that he 
asked to be relieved of his command of the Twentieth corps of 
Sherman's army. Hooker was Howard's senior, but did not 
enjoy the latter's "pull" at Washington and with Sherman. In 
asking to be relieved Hooker declared that "justice and self- 
respect alike require my removal from an army in which rank and 
service are ignored." Sherman let Hooker go willingly enough 
and appointed General Slocum, then at Vicksburg, Miss., in his 
place. The controversy which resulted in Hooker's leaving Sher- 
man was a celebrated national incident, engendering much bitter 
feeling in army and political circles. Hooker went North and 
bitterly denounced the "war clique." 

Lieutenant-General S. D. Lee arrived with reinforcements 
for the Confederates and took command of Hood's old corps. 
General Bragg, still in Atlanta, wired Richmond on the 26th: 
"Leave to-morrow to confer with Major-General Maury in 
Montgomery, and urge matters beyond. Lieutenant-General Lee 
arrived and goes on duty to-day. He is most favorably received. 
Tone of army fine, and strength increasing daily. The death of 
llrigadier-General Stevens, the wounding of Gist, and inability 
and sickness of Mercer and Stovall leave four brigadiers vacant, 
and the material to select from inferior. Accordingly, ordered 
Henry R. Jackson from Savannah. All quiet to-day." 

Logan's first movement to change his position was instantly 
discovered by Hood, and he ordered Wheeler to relieve Hardee in 
his position confronting the Federal left flank, in order that the 
latter might quietly withdraw into Atlanta to hold his troops 
within striking distance when Sherman's intentions were fully 
developed. At the same time Wheeler was ordered to put Kelly's 



The Movement To The I Vest 429 

division in motion toward Campbellton, to meet a raid in that 
vicinity by McCook, who had designs on Fayetteville and Fair- 
burn. There were cavalry skirmishes every day. Jackson was 
very active on the Confederate left. Ross, commanding a brig- 
ade in his command* reported the following incident on the 26th, 
which illustrates one of the phases of war : 

"Captain Wright and Lieutenant McClatchey, who charged 
on one of the roads this evening with their companies, inform me 
that they ran over and captured within 200 yards of the enemy's 
works more of the enemy trying to escape on foot than they 
could take care of. Captain Wright turned them back to the 
rear as rapidly as possible, but they showed much reluctance to 
going, and just then the enemy opened with canister from their 
works, regardless of their own men in Captain Wright's posses- 
sion, and all the prisoners fell on the ground and refused to run, 
whereupon Captain Wright and his men commenced killing them. 
They fired all their loads from pistols and guns into them and 
then retired for shelter from the artillery." 

Sherman's orders shifting the Army of the Tennessee to the 
opposite flank and completely changing his plan of attack were 
as follows : 

Special Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 

Field Orders, /// the Field, near Atlanta, Ga., 

No. 42. July 25, 1864. 

I. The several armies and bodies of cavalry will watch the 
enemy closely to their respective fronts, and in case the enemy 
retreats toward the southeast General Schofield will follow 
directly through Atlanta, General Thomas by roads on his right, 
and General Logan on his left. Generals Stoneman's and Gar- 
rard's cavalry will move by a circle to the left toward McDon- 
ough, break the railroad, and strike the enemy in front or flank, 
and General McCook's and Colonel Harrison's cavalry will move 
rapidly on Fayetteville and the railroad beyond, breaking it, if 
possible, in advance of the enemy, and striking the enemy in 
flank. 

II. Should the enemy remain as now, on the defensive, 
inside of the fortifications of Atlanta, the Macon road must be 



430 Atlanta And Its Builders 

attacked by cavalry beyond Fayetteville and McDonough, and the 
infantry must cover the line from the Howard house, General 
Schofield's present center, to General Davis's position on the 
right, and the line extended east and south so as to reach or 
threaten the railroad toward East Point. To this end Generals 
Stoneman and Garrard will call in all detachments and send to- 
morrow to Roswell or in rear of the infantry all crippled stock and 
incumbrances, prepared to move at daylight the next morning by 
a circuit to the left, so as to reach the railroad below McDonough. 
General Stoneman will command this cavalry force, but will 
spare General Garrard's fatigued horses as much as possible, 
using that command as a reserve, and his own as the force with 
which to reach and break the railroad. In like manner General 
McCook will command the joint cavalry command, his own, and 
of Colonel Harrison's, but will ^ise Colonel Harrison's fatigued 
command as a reserve, and his own to reach the road and break it. 
The railroad when reached must be substantially destroyed for a 
space of from two to five miles, telegraph wires pulled down as 
far as possible and hid in water or carried away. 

III. Major-General Schofield will prepare to draw back his 
left division to the old rebel line, extending back from the Howard 
house toward the road by which General Stanley advanced, and 
be prepared on the withdrawal of the Army of the Tennessee to 
hold that line as the left flank of the grand army. 

IV. Major-General Logan will to-morrow send all his 
trains, and sick, and impediments to the rear of General Thomas 
to any point near the mouth of Peachtree Creek, and during the 
early morning by moonlight of the next day, viz., Wednesday, 
July 27, withdraw his army, corps by corps, and move it to the 
right, forming on General Palmer, and advancing the right as 
much as possible. 

V. Major-General Thomas having strongly fortified his 
front will hold it by an adequate force and hold the reserves at 
points most convenient to move to the right, from which point he 
will strike and destroy the railroad, or so occupy the attention of 
the enemy that the cavalry may do its work completely and effect- 
ually. 

VI. The cavalry will, unless otherwise ordered, move out 
at daylight of Wednesday, 27th instant, and aim to reach and 



The Movement To The West 431 

break the railroad during the day or night of the 28th, and having 
accomplished this work will return to their proper flanks of the 
army, unless the enemy should be discovered in retreat, when 
each force described will hang on the flanks of the retreating 
enemy and obstruct his retreat by all the energy in their power. 

VII. All commanders will arrange that their trains be 
moved behind the Chattahoochee, or behind the center of the 
army during the time the cavalry is absent in the execution of this 
duty. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, Aide-de-Camp. 

Before McPherson's old troops moved from the scene of his 
death an impressive ceremony took place before the soldiers of 
the Seventeenth corps, one of his privates being honored by the 
public presentation of a gold medal for the part he took in recov- 
ering the body of the fallen commander. The order issued in this 
connection throws some additional light on the manner of Mc- 
Pherson's death, the report that he was instantly killed being 
generally accepted. The order in question read : 

General Orders, Hdqrs. 17TH Army Corps, 

No. 8. Department of the Tennessee, 

Before Atlanta, Ga., July 26, 1864. 
During the bloody battle of the 22d instant, in which this 
corps was engaged, Private George J. Reynolds, D Company, 
Fifteenth Iowa Infantry Volunteers, was, while in the perform- 
ance of his duty on the skirmish line, severely wounded in the 
arm. In attempting to evade capture he came to the spot where 
the late beloved and gallant commander of this army, Major- 
General McPherson, was lying mortally wounded. Forgetting 
all considerations of self, Private Reynolds clung to his old com- 
mander, and, amid the roar of battle and a storm of bullets, 
administered to the wants of his gallant chief, quenching his 
dying thirst, and affording him such comfort as lay in his power. 
After General McPherson had breathed his last, Private Reynolds 
was chiefly instrumental in recovering his body, going with two 
of his staff officers, pointing out the body, and assisting in putting 



43- Atlanta And Its Builders 

it in an ambulance, under a heavy fire from the enemy, and while 
his wound was still uncared for. The noble and devoted conduct 
of this soldier cannot be too highly praised, and is commended to 
the consideration of the officers and men of this command. In 
consideration of this gallantry and noble, unselfish devotion, the 
gold medal of honor will be conferred upon Private George J. 
Reynolds, D Company, Fifteenth Iowa Infantry Volunteers, in 
front of his command. This order will be read at the head of 
every regiment, battery and detachment in this corps. 
By command of Maj.-Gen. F. P. Blair: 

A. J. Alexander, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

On the 25th Sherman telegraphed Halleck : "To-morrow 
we begin the move against Atlanta, having strongly intrenched 
our front from the railroad east of Atlanta to a hill on the south 
of Proctor's Creek. I move the whole Army of the Tennessee 
to the right, extending the line south, threatening East Point, and 
forcing, as I think, Hood to abandon Atlanta, or allow us, at 
small cost, to occupy the railroad south of the town, that to the 
east being well destroyed. At the same time I send by the right 
a force of about 3,500 cavalry, under General McCook, and round 
by the left about 5,000 cavalry, under Stoneman, with orders to 
reach the railroad about Griffin. I also have consented that 
Stoneman (after he has executed this part of his plan), if he 
finds it feasible, may, with his division proper (about 2,000), go 
to Macon and attempt the release of our officers, prisoners there, 
and then to Anderson [ville] to release the 20,000 of our men, 
prisoners there. This is probably more than he can accomplish, 
but it is worthy of a determined effort. While these are in pro- 
gress I will, with the main army, give employment to all of the 
rebel army still in Atlanta." 

General Hood became aware of Sherman's intentions before 
the latter had time to get the Army of the Tennessee well in posi- 
tion west of Atlanta. Putting Hardee in the trenches occupied 
by Cheatham's, now Lee's corps. Hood moved Lee across Atlanta 
to head Howard off in the possession of the Lick Skillet road, and 
sent such cavalry force as he could spare from Hardee's old line 



The Movement To The West 433 

and the outlying defenses and posts, to head off Stoneman, Gar- 
rard and McCook. Wheeler and Jackson were handicapped by 
having to divide their forces and do double duty, but they gave a 
good account of themselves in the subsequent cavalry operations 
around Atlanta. At this time Hood issued the following brief 
address to his army : 

"Soldiers : Experience has proved to you that safety in 
time of battle consists in getting into close quarters with your 
enemy. Guns and colors are the only unerring indications of 
victory. The valor of troops is easily estimated, too, by the num- 
ber of these secured. If your enemy be allowed to continue the 
operation of flanking you out of position, our cause is in great 
peril. Your recent brilliant success proves the ability to prevent 
it. You have but to will it, and God will grant us the victory 
your commander and your country expect." 

At 1.30 o'clock on the afternoon of the 27th, Hood sent the 
following order to Lee, who was to meet Sherman's new move : 
"As soon as relieved by General Hardee, General Hood directs 
that you move Brown's and Clayton's divisions to the left, under 
cover, so that the movement may not be observed by the enemy. 
Let these divisions rest in rear of the line between the Peachtree 
and Marietta roads, and be in readiness to move at any moment. 
Supply them with sixty rounds of ammunition, if practicable. 
After making these dispositions please report in person to these 
headquarters. F. A. Shoup. 

"P. S. — That part of Stevenson's division to the left of the 
Peachtree road will not be withdrawn. Your left will rest near 
the Marietta road." 

At 4 o'clock on the same afternoon the following order was 
sent to General Stewart : "From present appearances the enemy 
is preparing to attack our left. Please have everybody on the 
alert and in readiness. As soon as Lee gets into position in your 
rear the general thinks you had better move Walthall's division 
a little farther to the left." 

Later in the evening both Lee and Stewart were ordered to 
hold their commands in readiness to move that night, and the 
former was directed to send support to the latter should he send 

28-1 



434 Atlanta And Its Builders 

to him for troops. Everybody was ordered to the lines and the 
greatest activity was manifested in the threatened quarter. Gen- 
eral Hood telegraphed General Winder, in command at Ander- 
sonville : 

"The raid toward Covington is stronger than at first re- 
ported. Destination still unknown. We have a heavy force in 
pursuit." 

While Howard was massing on the right, prepared to as- 
sume the aggressive, Schofield was making a demonstration in 
force in his front, to see whether Hood had weakened his right 
to strengthen his left. He reported to Sherman that he had found 
the enemy alert and apparently in force. At the same time Thom- 
as pressed hard against the defenses of Atlanta to the north, but 
found Stewart and the state troops ready to receive him. 

Hood says of Sherman's move to the west of Atlanta : "On 
the 26th of July the Federals were reported to be moving to our 
left. This movement continued during the 27th, when I received 
the additional information that their cavalry was turning our 
right, in the direction of Flat Rock, with the intention, as I sup- 
posed, of interrupting our main line of communication, the Macon 
railroad. We had lost the railroad to Augusta previous to the 
departure of General Johnston on the i8th, and, by the 22d, 
thirty miles or more thereof had been utterly destroyed. 

"The Federal commander continued to move by his right 
flank to our left, his evident intention being to destroy the only 
line by which we were still able to receive supplies. The railroad 
to West Point, because of its proximity to the Chattahoochee 
river, was within easy reach of the enemy whenever he moved 
far enough to the right to place his left flank upon the river. 
Therefore, after the destruction of the Augusta road, the holding 
of Atlanta — unless some favorable opportunity offered itself to 
defeat the Federals in battle — depended upon our ability to hold 
intact the road to Macon. 

"General Wheeler started on the 27th of July in pursuit of 
the Federal cavalry which had moved around our right, and Gen- 
eral W. H. Jackson, with the brigades of Harrison and Ross, was 
ordered, the following day. to push vigorously another body of the 
enemy's cavalry which was reported to have crossed the river, at 



The Movement To The West 



435 



Campbellton, and to be moving, via Fairburn, in the direction of 
the Macon road. On the 28th it was apparent that Sherman was 
also moving in the same direction with his main body. Lieu- 
tenant-General S. D. Lee was instructed to move out with his 
corps upon the Lick Skillet road, and to take the position most 
advantageous to prevent or delay the extension of the enemy's 
right flank." 



CHAPTER XXX. 

BATTLE OF EZRA CHURCH 

The third serious threat of Sherman was promptly and boldly 
met by a third battle with Hood on the aggressive. General How- 
ard, in command of the Federal troops engaged at the battle of 
Ezra Church, writes of that bloody conflict as follows : 

"Sherman now drew his half-circle closer and closer, and 
began to maneuver with a view to get upon the railroads proceed- 
ing southward. The Army of the Tennessee (late McPherson's) 
was assigned to me by the president, and I took command on the 
27th of July, while it was marching around by the rear of Scho- 
field and Thomas, in order to throw itself forward close to Atlanta 
on the southwest side, near Ezra Church. Skirmishing briskly, 
Dodge was fiist put into line facing the city; next Blair, beside 
him ; last, Logan, on the right, making a large angle with Blair. 
He was not at night quite up to the crest of the ridge that he was 
to occupy. In the morning of the 28th he was moving slowly and 
steadily into position. About 8 o'clock Sherman was riding with 
me through the wooded region in the rear of Logan's forces, when 
the skirmishing began to increase, and an occasional shower of 
grape cut through the tree-tops and struck the ground beyond us. 
I said: 'General, Hood will attack me here.' 'I guess not — he 
will hardly try it again,' Sherman replied. I said that I had known 
Hood at West Point, and that he was indomitable. As the signs 
increased, Sherman went back to Thomas, where he could best 
help me should I need reinforcement. Logan halted his line and 
the regiments hurriedly and partially covered their front with 
logs and rails, having only a small protection while kneeling or 
lying down. It was too late for intrenching. With a terrifying 
yell, Hood's men charged through the forest. They were met 
steadily and repulsed. But in the impulse a few Confederate regi- 

436 



Battle Of Ezra Church 437 

ments passed beyond Logan's extreme right. To withstand them 
four regiments came from Dodge ; Inspector-General Strong led 
thither two from Blair, armed with repeating rifles; and my chief 
of artillery placed several batteries so as to sweep that exposed 
flank. These were brought in at the exact moment, and after a 
few rapid discharges, the repeating-rifles being remarkable in their 
execution, all the groups of flankers were either cut down or had 
to seek safety in flight. This battle was prolonged for hours. We 
expected help from Morgan's division of Palmer's corps, coming 
back from Turner's Ferry ; but the Confederate cavalry kept it in 
check. Our troops here exhibited nerve and persistency; Logan 
was cheerful and hearty and full of enthusiasm. He stopped 
stragglers and sent them back, and gave every needed order. 
Blair was watchful and helpful, and so was Dodge. After the 
last charge had been repelled, I went along my lines and felt proud 
and happy to be intrusted with such brave and efficient soldiers. 
Hood, having again lost three times as many as we, withdrew 
within his fortified lines. Our skirmishers cleared the field, and 
the battle of Ezra Church was won; and with this result I con- 
tented myself. One officer, who was a little panic-stricken, ran 
with the first stragglers to Sherman, and cried substantially, as I 
remember, 'You've made a mistake in McPherson's successor. 
Everything is going to pieces !' Sherman said, 'Is General How- 
ard there?' 'Yes; I suppose he is.' 'Well, I'll wait before taking 
action till I hear from him.' So Sherman sustained and trusted 
me, and I was content." 

The wisdom of Hood in ordering this third assault on the 
Union lines at that place and time has been questioned. There 
was logical strategy in the battles of Peachtree Creek and Atlanta, 
but the battle of Ezra Church gave more ground for the charge 
that Hood was merely a blind fighter, who counted no cost and 
hesitated at no consequences. Hood's chances of successfully 
withstanding the attack upon his sole line of communication were 
strengthened, after the battle of the 22d, by a cautious defensive 
attitude. The odds against him in an ordinary assault were too 
great to be risked after such losses as he had suffered. The policy 
adopted after the affair at Ezra Church, which resulted in keeping 
Sherman from accomplishing his purpose for five weeks, was the 



43§ Atlanta And Its Builders 

correct one, under the circumstances. The battle of Ezra Church 
was a succession of fierce charges by nearly half of Hood's army 
upon the Army of the Tennessee, constituting in that position 
Sherman's right. The Federals held an exceedingly strong line 
topographically, though they had not had time to fortify it to any 
great extent. The Confederate masses were hurled against them 
with great determination, and in some quarters with superior 
force, only to be broken and beaten back with a terrible sacrifice of 
blood. Lee's corps and a part of Stewart's made the attack, 
charge after charge in rapid succession, throughout the afternoon, 
the darkness ending the struggle. The brunt of the assaults was 
borne by Logan, supported by Dodge and Blair. The entire Con- 
federate losses in this sanguinary and fruitless battle have been 
placed by Confederate authority at between four and five thou- 
sand, while the Federal generals engaged insisted that the Con- 
federate loss could not be below 7,000. The entire Federal loss 
was officially given as less than 1,000. Hood asserts that the ob- 
ject of the battle of Ezra Church was to gain possession of the 
Lick Skillet road, which was accomplished. 

A more interesting account of the battle of Ezra Church can- 
not be given than to reproduce the reports of the leading officers 
engaged on both sides. Fortunately the Confederate reports are, 
in large part, available. 

General Logan says of the battle : "Immediately after re- 
suming command of the corps, commenced to move it into the 
position assigned it, on the right of the Seventeenth Corps, and 
extreme right of the army, with Woods's division on the left, Har- 
row's in the center, and Smith's on the right. My command was 
thus moving forward in line of battle when the skirmishers became 
very actively engaged, and just as my command had gained the 
ridge upon which was situated Ezra Chapel, the enemy suddenly 
and with the greatest fury assaulted the right and center of my 
line. The troops had not had a moment to construct even the 
rudest defenses. The position we occupied, however, at the mo- 
ment of attack was one of the most favorable that could have been 
chosen by us, it being the crest of a continuous ridge, in front of 
the greatest portion of which a good and extensive fire line was 
opened. The enemy moved forward rapidly and in good order, 



Battle Of Ezra Church 439 

evidently intending to and confidently believing they would break 
our lines at the first onset, which happily they did not do, nor even 
compel a single portion of it to waver, but all stood firm alike, and 
repelled the assault handsomely, after about one hour's terrific 
lighting, in which the enemy's loss was greater than ours in the 
ratio of 10 to i. The enemy soon re-formed again, and made a 
desperate assault, which was repeated four successive times with 
like result of the first. During temporary lulls in the fighting, 
which did not at any time exceed from three to five minutes, the 
men would bring together logs and sticks to shield themselves 
from the bullets of the enemy in the next asault. The engage- 
ment lasted from 11.30 a. m. until darkness compelled a cessation. 
The enemy used one battery of artillery. We used none what- 
ever. It was an open field fight, in which the enemy exceeded us 
in numerical strength, and we exceeded him in determination and 
spirit to continue the contest. During the engagement I received 
from Major-General Blair two regiments of infantry, under com- 
mand of Colonel (now Brigadier-General) Belknap, and four 
regiments from General Dodge, under command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Phillips, in all about 1,000 men. These troops were re- 
ceived at a time when I much needed them, and under the skillful 
management of the officers who commanded them, acted gallantly 
until the battle was ended. 

"My losses were 50 killed, 439 wounded, and 73 missing. 
Aggregate, 562. General Harrow's division captured 5 battle- 
flags from the enemy. Between 1,500 and 2,000 muskets were 
captured, and 106 prisoners (not including 73 wounded). Over 
600 of the enemy's dead were buried in'my front. A large num- 
ber were supposed to be carried away during the night, as the 
enemy did not withdraw until nearly daylight. The enemy's loss 
in this battle could not. in my judgment, have been less than 6,000 
or 7,000. Rebel papers subsequently read admit their loss very 
heavy, and say the fighting was the most desperate of the cam- 
paign. 

"During the night, by my direction, the strongest defensive 
line that could be established was completed, and the next day (the 
enemy having in the night retired beyond the reach of my fire) 



44° Atlanta And Its Builders 

was occupied in burying the enemy's dead and removing the 
wounded from the field to the hospitals in the rear." 

Brigadier-General C. R. Woods, who held an important part 
of Logan's line, says : "On the 27th of July this division moved, 
with the remainder of the Fifteenth Army Corps, from the left of 
the army to the right, a distance of from eight to ten miles, and 
went into bivouac in rear of the Seventeenth Army Corps at 10 
p. m. At 2 a. m. on the 28th of July I commenced forming line 
of battle on the right of General G. A. Smith's division, Seven- 
teenth Army Corps, and shortly after daylight had the line 
formed. This line was at right angles to the general direction of 
the main line. As soon as General G. A. Smith commenced to 
swing around into the line, I moved, conforming to his movements 
and keeping connected with his right. When the movement was 
completed my right rested near Ezra Chapel, the general direction 
of the line being nearly north and south. As soon as I had got 
into position I directed brigade commanders to throw up a tem- 
porary barricade of rails, which was done in about half an hour. 
The Fourth and Second Divisions, Fifteenth Army Corps, were 
placed in position at right angles to the First Division. Shortly 
after getting into position the enemy opened with artillery on the 
Fourth and Second Divisions. A little after 12 o'clock the enemy 
made an attack on the Second and Fourth Divisions in heavy 
force, but were repulsed with great loss. A little after 1 p. m. 
they made a determined attack on the left of the Fourth Division 
and the right of the First. The assaults were several times re- 
pulsed, but after each repulse the enemy charged in greater num- 
bers and with greater determination, but finding, however, that 
they could not break the lines, they finally withdrew. This attack 
lasted something over an hour. They did not attack again in 
front of the First Division. Only between 300 and 400 men of the 
Third Brigade were engaged, and there were buried in front of 
the division of the enemy's dead, [sic] including 1 colonel, 1 
major, and several company officers. At a fair estimate there 
must have been at least one rebel killed or wounded for every man 
engaged on my side." 

Brigadier-General Harrow, whom Logan commended highly, 
has this to say of Ezra Church : "During the night of the 26th 



Battle Of Ezra Church 441 

July the division moved to the right, reaching on the evening of 
the 27th a point near the Green's Ferry road, and early the fol- 
lowing morning moved forward, maintaining a position at a right 
angle with the command of Brigadier-General Woods, command- 
ing First Division; the Third Brigade, Colonel Oliver, forming 
the connection with the First and Second Brigades moving within 
the lines, and parallel to the Third. This order of march was con- 
tinued ; our lines facing east and south until 11 a. m., when the 
enemy's skirmishers began to dispute farther progress. Every- 
thing indicating the enemy to be near, our lines were rapidly 
formed along a wooded crest facing nearly south, the First Brig- 
ade on the right, the Third on the left, and the Second in reserve. 
The line was not entirely formed before the enemy attacked in 
large force and with great desperation. After a brief struggle 
their first line gave way ; a second was moved forward, but after a 
severe struggle met a like fate. The woods in our front afforded 
the enemy an opportunity of re-forming his broken lines unper- 
ceived. The assault upon my lines was repeated six times be- 
tween 12 m. and 5 p. m., and in every instance were met and re- 
pulsed with great slaughter, until finally sundown greeted us as 
victors upon the most stubbornly contested and bloodiest battle- 
field of the campaign. The battle was fought by the Fifteenth 
Corps against four times their numbers, without the advantage of 
works on either side. If the soldiers of the Fifteenth Corps had 
no other claim to consideration than their efforts on that day, it 
would be enough to entitle them to the lasting gratitude of their 
country." 

General Howard was disappointed in not receiving reinforce- 
ments at a critical juncture, and had to send to Sherman the sec- 
ond time. He says in his report : "The enemy's assaults exhibit- 
ed so much pertinacity that 1 feared he might finally, by contin- 
ually throwing in fresh troops, wear our men out and burst 
through the line at some point. I therefore sent to General Sher- 
man for reinforcements, at least a brigade. The general felt so 
sure that General Morgan's division, of the Fourteenth Corps, 
that had gone toward Turner's Ferry, would soon appear on my 
right flank, that he was contented to send me word to that effect. 
But as Morgan did not arrive I again sent Lieutenant-Colonel 



44 2 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Howard to ask at least a brigade. General Sherman ordered it 
forward at once. It did not arrive, however, until the battle was 
over. Adding the losses of Generals Blair and Dodge, which 
were small, the entire loss of killed and wounded will not exceed 
600. In a letter to General Sherman, July 29, I stated that we 
had counted 642 rebel dead, and that I estimated the rebel loss 
at not less than 5,000. From subsequent rebel accounts, and from 
between 100 and 200 more rebel bodies afterward discovered, I 
believe the enemy's loss much larger, certainly not less than 7,000. 
We captured 5 battle-flags, upward of 1,500 muskets, and nearly 
200 prisoners. After the battle of the 28th of July the enemy 
seemed satisfied to stand on the defensive as long as he held At- 
lanta." 

Lieutenant-General Lee, of the Confederate army, gives the 
following account of the battle : "I assumed command of Hood's 
old corps, consisting of Stevenson's, Clayton's, and Hindman's 
divisions (the latter commanded by Brigadier-General John C. 
Brown), on July 27, 1864. The army was then in position and 
intrenched around Atlanta, daily shifting its position to meet the 
flank movements of the enemy. On the 27th Hindman's and Clay- 
ton's divisions were withdrawn from the trenches and massed on 
the Lick Skillet road. On the 28th, about 11 a. m., I received 
orders to move out on the Lick Skillet road and check the enemy, 
who was then moving to our left, as it was desirable to hold that 
road, to be used for a contemplated movement. I soon found that 
the enemy had gained the road, and was gradually driving back 
our cavalry. Brown's division was at once formed on the left of 
and obliquely to the road, and Clayton's division on the right, 
connecting by a line of skirmishers with the main works around 
the city. As soon as Brown was formed he moved forward, hand- 
somely driving the enemy across the road and to a distance half a 
mile beyond, where he encountered temporary breast-works, from 
which he was driven back with considerable loss. Clayton's divi- 
sion moved forward as soon as formed, and about ten minutes 
after Brown's advance, and met with similar results. I found it 
difficult to rally Brown's division and move it against the enemy 
a second time. The consequence was that one or two brigades of 
this division, as also of Clayton's division, sustained heavy losses 



Battle Of Ezra Church 443 

because of the failure in the attack of portions of their lines. 
Walthall's division, of Stewart's corps, had moved out on the Lick 
Skillet road, while Brown's and Clayton's divisions were engag- 
ing the enemy. At my suggestion this division was thrown 
against the enemy where Brown had attacked. The enemy was 
still within easy range of the Lick Skillet road, and I believed 
that he would yield before a vigorous attack. The effort, how- 
ever, was a failure, and the troops were formed on the road, and 
during the night were withdrawn, by order of the commanding 
general, to a more suitable position, connecting with the works 
immediately around Atlanta. The enemy had two corps engaged 
in this affair; still I am convinced that if all the troops had dis- 
played equal spirit we would have been successful, as the enemy's 
works were slight, and besides they had scarcely gotten into posi- 
tion when we made the attack." 

Brigadier-General John C. Brown, in temporary command of 
Hindman's division, reported : "On the afternoon of the 27th 
I moved from the position on the Augusta railroad, which I had 
fortified and held since the investment of the city, and inarched to 
the left of Peachtree street almost to the Marietta road, and was 
going into position near night-fall, when I received orders to 
march immediately to the Lick Skillet road, reaching which point 
after dark I was ordered into bivouac, where I remained until 10 
o'clock next morning (28th), when the lieutenant-general com- 
manding corps gave me verbal orders to move with the utmost 
dispatch upon the Lick Skillet road until I reached the Poor- 
House, a mile in front of our line of intrenchments, where I would 
find General Jackson's division of cavalry. I preceded the advance 
of my column, and arriving at the point indicated learned from 
General Jackson that his command was being rapidly pressed back 
to the road, and that his information indicated the enemy's in- 
fantry to be small. The lieutenant-general commanding arrived 
almost simultaneously with the head of the column, and directed 
me to form rapidly in rear of a commanding position in the road in 
advance of the Poor-House, so that my right might rest upon and 
at an angle of about forty-five degrees with the road, holding one 
brigade in reserve. I was directed to attack and drive the enemy 
to Ezra Church and hold that position. I formed, with Johnston's 



444 Atlanta And Its Builders 

(formerly Deas's) brigade on the right, Brantly's on the left, and 
Sharp's in the center, with Maniganlt in reserve, and instantly 
moved forward. The enemy's skirmishers were encountered at 
the road and his advance line a little beyond, moving rapidly to 
possess the road. It was routed and driven 500 or 600 yards and 
took refuge behind intrenchments. The woods were so dense that 
these works were not discovered until my line was upon them. In 
many places the works were carried, but the enemy reinforced so 
rapidly and with such an immensely superior force, that my troops 
were driven with great slaughter from them. Brigadier-General 
Johnston in the first onset was severely wounded. Colonel Col- 
tart, upon whom the command devolved, was in a few moments 
afterward also wounded, and Colonel B. R. Hart, Twenty-second 
Alabama regiment, the next in command, was wounded imme- 
diately after assuming command. The command then passed to 
Lieutenant-Colonel H. T. Toulmin. At this juncture I relieved it 
with my supporting brigade, but behaving badly, its demoraliza- 
tion was so great it could not be made effective. My left brigade 
being outflanked was compelled to retire, which made the with- 
drawal of the center indispensable. I succeeded in rallying a 
greater portion of the division on a ridge, when it again became 
necessary to charge the enemy, who, becoming emboldened by our 
failure to hold his works, was advancing upon us. The effort, as 
before, resulted in only partial success, and the enemy pouring 
fresh troops upon our front and flanks compelled us again to re- 
tire. After this we were content to rally and form line on the 
crest of the ridge between the Lick Skillet road and the enemy's 
position, so as to hold that road. Temporary defenses of rails, 
&c, were constructed and the position held until the arrival of 
Stewart's corps, when we were relieved by Walthall's division 
and retired to the right and rear to suport Clayton. About mid- 
night we moved and took position on the prolongation of the 
defenses of Atlanta, about two miles west of the Lick Skillet 
road." 

General Clayton, commanding a division of Lee's corps, says 
of the part taken by his command : "Early on the morning of 
the 28th of July this division, with the exception of Stovall's 
brigade, was ordered to move from its position in the trenches 



Battle Of Ezra Church 445 

on the northeast of Atlanta through the city to the west. Here 
it was halted until near the middle of the day, when, having been 
preceded by Brown's division, it moved out upon the Lick Skillet 
road about a mile and went into line of battle on the right of the 
road, facing to the north. I had placed Gibson's brigade on the 
left, and was superintending the formation of Holtzclaw's brig- 
ade upon the right — having directed Brigadier-General Baker to 
form his brigade in rear as a reserve — when I learned that with- 
out the knowledge of Brigadier-General Gibson or myself, his 
brigade had been ordered forward by Lieutenant-Colonel Cun- 
ningham, assistant inspector-general of the corps. This brigade 
soon struck the enemy, whose skirmishers, with the line sup- 
porting them, were promptly driven back on the main line. Mov- 
ing Holtzclaw's brigade forward, with instructions to look well 
to the right (my formation having been from the left on Brown's 
division), I hastened to where Gibson's brigade was engaged. 
This brigade had struck the salient in the enemy's works and had 
suffered severely. I was informed by Brigadier-General Gibson 
that he needed support. The troops on his left had been driven 
back in confusion. I immediately ordered up Baker's brigade, 
which renewed the attack with spirit, but was in time driven 
back with great loss. I then ordered Holtzclaw's brigade to 
move by the left flank and take a position out of view of the 
enemy, but near their works, and covering the ground over 
which the other two brigades had passed, in order to meet an 
advance of the enemy should one be made. Hastily forming 
Gibson's and Baker's brigades (both of which had fought with 
gallantry and lost one-half of their original numbers) in rear, 
the firing upon my left having ceased, I notified Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral Lee, commanding corps, of my position, and awaited orders. 
I had found the enemy in strong works and upon ground well 
chosen. Had my right brigade advanced to the attack it would 
have done so by changing direction to the left and moved 
through an extensive open field. I had also been instructed not 
to make the attack beyond the branch in my front, and which 
this brigade had then crossed. Soon after dark the troops were 
moved back through the breastworks near the city, and to a 
new position on the left of the army." 



446 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Major-General Walthall, who, when Lieutenant-General 
Stewart was wounded, assumed command of his corps, says of 
his operations that day : "Reynolds's brigade was on the right 
and Cantey's on the left, while Brigadier-General Quarles was 
directed to remain in reserve near the road and to watch closely 
the left flank. These dispositions made, and after being informed 
that my right would be protected by troops of another com- 
mand, I moved forward shortly after 2 o'clock and attacked the 
enemy with orders to drive him to Ezra Church. I found him 
in strong position and large force on a hill a short distance in 
front, and failed to dislodge him after a vigorous and persistent 
effort, in which I lost 152 officers and nearly 1,000 men, consid- 
erably over one-third my force. The enemy occupied a line of 
great natural strength, and had thrown up temporary works for 
their protection. As far as the trees and undergrowth would 
permit us to see beyond my left, his line deflected to protect his 
right flank, extended, and soon after my command became en- 
gaged it was discovered by Brigadier-General Reynolds, com- 
manding the right brigade, that there were no troops connected 
with him on the right, and he deployed two companies to cover 
the wooded space between him and the nearest brigade of Lee's 
corps, some distance to his right. Having met Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral Lee on the field, I brought to his attention the gap on my 
right, and sent a staff officer to notify Lieutenant-General Stew- 
art of it also, and in reply received from the latter a message to 
the effect that Lieutenant-General Lee would send a brigade to 
that point. Thereupon I ordered Quarles's brigade to be moved 
up on my left, except Forty-second and Forty-ninth Tennessee 
Regiments, under command of Col. W. F. Young, which I re- 
tained in rear of my center for its support and for the protection 
of a section of Darden's artillery, which was then being em- 
ployed. Brigadier-General Quarles, seconded by Yates's battery, 
which was so posted as to aid him, made a bold and bloody as- 
sault, but his command was checked by the strong force in his 
front and the unopposed troops which lapped his left and poured 
into it a damaging flank fire. 

"'If it had been possible for the daring of officers and the 
desperate fighting of the men to have overcome such odds in 



Battle Of Ezra Church 447 

numbers and strength of position as we encountered that day all 
along my whole line, the enemy must have been beaten, but dou- 
ble the force could not have accomplished what my division was 
ordered to undertake. Seeing this a staff officer was dispatched 
to Lieutenant-General Stewart, who was near by, to notify him 
of my situation and to say that my command, now greatly re- 
duced by losses sustained in assaulting this superior force in 
strong position, could not drive it from the works it held without 
assistance. He sent me instructions to hold the position I then 
occupied till Major-General Loring's command was in position 
on the Lick Skillet road and then to withdraw to his rear, and 
soon after he notified me to withdraw, Loring's line being com- 
plete. Before this order was executed, the lieutenant-general 
commanding having been wounded, his command devolved on me, 
and I directed Brigadier-General Quarles, to whom the com- 
mand of my own division then passed, to complete the execution 
of the order for withdrawal, but to form on the left of Loring's 
division instead of going to its rear, the movements of the enemy 
making this change necessary. This was accomplished about 
4 o'clock, and from that time there was slight skirmishing along 
the front of both divisions till night, and about 10 o'clock we 
moved, by orders from the general commanding, within the line 
of works around the city." 

Colonel O'Neal, commanding Cantey's Brigade, which did 
its full share of the fighting, reported : "About 2 p. m. the com- 
mand to advance was given and the brigade moved forward in 
perfect order through an open field, exposed at every step to the 
fire of the enemy, who were posted on the crest of a hill, sheltered 
by a skirt of dense woods. The advance was continued some 300 
yards, and until we had passed down and across the declivity in- 
tervening between the open field and the position occupied by the 
enemy, when the fire became so hot and galling the men sought 
shelter behind a fence, from which they opened on him a heavy 
fire along the whole line. Besides the protection which the hill 
and woods afforded him the enemy had some slight and hastily 
constructed field-works. For more than two hours the san- 
guinary conflict raged with great fury and slaughter, and finding 
it impossible to dislodge him from his position, I sent to the ma- 



448 Atlanta And Its Builders 

jor-general commanding for assistance. General Ouarles was or- 
dered up. He obeyed the order with alacrity. His troops came up 
in splendid style, and at once opened on the enemy a heavy fire; 
but even with this additional force it was found impossible to 
break his line, although at one time some parts of our line gained 
a footing in forty or fifty yards of the enemy. The regimental 
commanders having informed me that their ammunition was ex- 
hausted, the brigade was ordered back to the point from which it 
had advanced, and ammunition distributed to the men shortly 
afterward. General Ouarles was compelled to fall back, and the 
command of the corps having devolved on the major-general, in 
consequence of the wounding of General Stewart, General Ouarles 
took command of the division, and I was ordered by him to move 
to the left some 300 or 400 yards, where line of battle was formed, 
and where we remained till night, when we fell back to the 
trenches and bivouacked for the night." 

Brigadier-General Reynolds says of the part he took in the 
battle: "Major Youngblood's battalion was attached to my brig- 
ade on 26th of July, and General Gholson's brigade, under com- 
mand of Col. John McGuirk, was temporarily assigned to my 
command at 12 m. on 28th, and but a short time before we 
moved out to meet the enemy. About 1 p. m. the division, mov- 
ing left in front (with my command on the right, with Gholson's 
brigade on the left, Youngblood's battalion in center, and my 
own brigade on the right), moved out the Lick Skillet road about 
one mile and a half from our works, and at the Poor-House 
formed in line of battle in the road and on the right of General 
Cantey's brigade, General Ouarles's brigade being in reserve. 
We moved forward over an open field some 200 yards wide, and 
on the opposite side of the field encountered the enemy's skir- 
mishers and drove them into their works. Youngblood's bat- 
talion got in some confusion, and many of them left the field, 
though a number of them acted very well. The order to charge 
was given, and the command pressed forward to within thirty or 
forty yards of the enemy's works, where they were met with a 
terrific fire from the front, and were enfiladed on my right (there 
being no support on my right), and the command was compelled 
to fall back some forty or fifty yards, where some protection was 



Battle Of Ezra Church 449 

afforded by rails, &c. This position was held for some three hours 
tinder a most galling and destructive fire. Having no support 
on my right, and the enemy's left extending some distance beyond 
my right, I had two companies of my right regiment deployed 
and extended some 300 yards to the right of my line, where they 
afterward connected with the skirmish line from General Holtz- 
claw's brigade, of Clayton's division. Colonel McGuirk, with- 
out orders from me, but from some field officer, ordered a sec- 
ond charge on the enemy's works, but was compelled to fall back 
after suffering considerable loss. General Quarles's brigade was 
ordered forward to support General Cantey's, and to fill up the 
space in my command between Gholson's brigade and my own 
brigade, at first occupied by Youngblood's battalion. The battle 
continued to rage with great fury until 5 p. m., when it abated 
to some extent, and shortly after we received orders to leave a 
skirmish line and withdraw our forces to the road. The com- 
mand was withdrawn in good order and moved up to the left 
some half a mile, where temporary defensive works of rails were 
erected." 

Brigadier-General Manigault reported as follows: "The 
brigade advanced through a dense wood, then through an open 
wood, and halted for a minute or two to correct the alignment, 
its front here covered by a skirt of wood, beyond which was an- 
other open field, on the edge of which was a deep ravine, and a 
steep and high wooded ridge rising beyond this. On the slope 
of the ridge the enemy were posted, but in what force I believe 
was not known at the time. I was now ordered to move forward 
and carry the heights. The brigade advanced in good order, 
passing through the first wood, and immediately on reaching the 
field, came under a heavy fire poured in from the height in its 
immediate front, and extending to the right and left for a space 
of more than 300 yards. In spite of this galling fire, the open 
field was crossed in fair order, though many fell killed and 
wounded. The wood was reached, ravine crossed, and ascent 
commenced. The enemy were now to be seen behind their breast- 
works, and from which they kept up a steady and well-directed 
fire. The regiments on the right and left here suffered from a 
heavy flank fire, and the enemy, seeing that our front was but a 

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Battle Of Ezra Church 451 

short one, brought troops upon the right of the brigade, forcing 
the men back. Many of the enemy's troops were driven back by 
our fire, but fresh troops being immediately thrust forward, the 
opposition could not be overcome, and the brigade was forced 
back along its entire front, leaving many of their dead and 
wounded within a few feet of the enemy's intrenchments. The 
brigade was again rallied and a second attempt made, but with 
like want of success. A third time they were ordered to make 
the effort ; formed and moved forward some distance, when the 
order was countermanded, and they retired to a point along an 
old road immediately in rear of the position where they were 
halted to rectify the alignment before their first advance upon 
the enemy. While remaining here two efforts were made by 
other commands to carry the same point, resulting in each in- 
stance in failure. During the remainder of the day we were 
moved to several positions both in the front and rear line, but 
were not again actually engaged, although experiencing some 
loss from stray balls, &c." 

While Howard had his hands full with Lee on the Federal 
right, Schofield was making a strong demonstration on the left, 
thinking he had mainly militia in front of him and might be able 
to break through without a serious conflict. He soon discovered 
that the enemy's lines had not been weakened materially. At 
nightfall on the 28th he wrote Sherman : "I have kept up my 
demonstration during the day, and extended it about a mile be- 
yond the railroad. The enemy has continually moved troops to 
his right, and met me in strong works with a great deal of artil- 
lery and men enough to resist a heavy assault." General Thomas 
held himself in readiness to detach to Howard's support, at the 
same time making strong threats along his front with heavy skir- 
mish lines and his artillery. Early in the morning, at Sherman's 
order, he sent General Jeff. C. Davis's division to Turner's Ferry, 
from which point it was to move toward East Point, feeling for- 
ward cautiously for Howard's right. Davis being sick, the com- 
mand devolved on General Morgan. The failure of this division 
to reach Howard's right was the source of much anxiety to him 
during the battle. Its march was delayed by Jackson's cavalry. 

Before the battle of Ezra Church, there was much dissatis- 
faction in the Army of the Tennessee over Howard's appoint- 



45 2 Atlanta And Its Builders 

merit to succeed the lamented McPherson. The effect of the 
battle was to firmly instate the new commander in the affections 
of his soldiers, according to the following note from Sherman to 
Schofield, after the battle : 

"General Howard's conduct to-day had an excellent effect on 
his command. After the firing had ceased he walked the line, 
and the men gathered about him in the most affectionate man- 
ner, and he at once gained their hearts and confidence. I deem 
this a perfect restoration to confidence in themselves and leader 
of that army." 

Sherman's report to Washington on the night of the 28th 
was as follows: "The enemy again assaulted to-day; this time 
on our extreme right, to which flank I had shifted the Army of 
the Tennessee, to gain ground toward the railroad. The blow 
fell upon the Fifteenth Corps, which handsomely repulsed it, 
capturing four regimental flags. The attack was kept up for five 
hours. Our men were partially covered, while the enemy was 
exposed. Our loss is comparatively small, while that of the ene- 
my is represented as heavy. I will give approximate figures to- 
morrow. The cavalry has now been out two days, and to-mor- 
row should show the effect. I feel confident they will reach the 
Macon road. Our right is about a mile distant from the rail- 
road, but the ground is very difficult. I may be forced to extend 
still farther to command it. We have had heavy cannonading all 
day, the enemy using ordnance as heavy as 6-inch rifled guns. 
Bragg has been to Atlanta on a second visit." 

In General Hardee's report, which will be found at the con- 
clusion of this history of the Atlanta campaign, occurs a refer- 
ence to the battle of Ezra Church that is a good deal in the 
nature of unwritten history. According to Hardee, Hood was 
almost stampeded by the day's developments, and requested that 
well-known corps commander to leave his command and go at 
once to the Lick Skillet road to take charge of the hostile opera- 
tions on that flank. Hardee went, but the field was lost before 
his arrival. During his absence, his division commanders were 
ordered by Hood to hold themselves in readiness to change posi- 
tion that night. 

On the evening of the 28th Hood advised Richmond of the 
situation, as follows : "The enemy commenced extending his 



Battle Of Ezra Church 453 

right about 8 this morning, driving in our cavalry. Lieutenant- 
Generals Stewart and Lee were directed to hold the Lick Skillet 
road for the day with a portion of their commands. About 1.30 
o'clock a sharp engagement enused with no decided advantage 
to either side. We still occupy the Lick Skillet road. I regret to 
say that Lieutenant-General Stewart and Major-General Loring 
were wounded. In my dispatch of yesterday I should have men- 
tioned that Brigadier-General Ector was severely wounded dur- 
ing that day." 

The same night Hood wired General Howell Cobb, in com- 
mand of the state troops at Macon : "Let the militia remain at 
Andersonville for the present. Raiders reported across South 
river; one column moving toward McDonough." 

To Governor Brown he sent this message : "Raid on our 
right checked at Flat Rock . Enemy reported as crossing at Camp- 
bellton and at Varner's for raid. Cavalry sent to meet it. Send 
troops to Griffin." 



CHAPTER XXXI 

CAVALRY RAIDS AND STONEMAN's CAPTURE. 

After the battle of Ezra Church Sherman ordered the ut- 
most activity on his flanks. Howard's line was made very strong 
on the night of the 28th, and he was satisfied with its position. 
Thomas was ordered to take Davis's and Williams's divisions 
and operate from Howard's right to East Point in the nature of 
a reconnaissance to threaten the Macon road. Schofield was or- 
dered to do the same on the left. 

In compliance with Sherman's order, Thomas reported on the 
night of the 29th : "I have just returned from the right. I have 
intrenched Morgan on the Howell's (or Green's) Ferry road, to 
the right and southwest of Logan. He has complete control of 
that road, and has his skirmishers out half a mile to his front. 
They have driven the rebels into intrenched rifle-pits, and report 
intrenched lines heavily manned a short distance in rear of their 
skirmish rifle-pits. I also directed Ward to take position on 
Morgan's right and refuse his right, so as to make a strong right 
flank. Ward fronts the Howell's Ferry road, and runs along it 
toward the Chattahoochee for half a mile and then falls back 
this way. If. after intrenching, Howard will thin out and extend 
to his right, Morgan and Ward can move still farther to the 
right, and might perhaps overlap the enemy. Whilst Morgan 
and Ward made their advances, I had Williams, Johnson, and 
Baird make strong reconnaissances to their fronts. They all re- 
port their belief that the enemy has either retired altogether, or 
has withdrawn the greater part of his forces, and only now has a 
weak skirmish line covering his fortifications around the city. I 
have directed them to feel strongly to-night, and determine 
whether the enemy has retired or not. 



454 



Cavalry Raids And Stoneman's Capture 455 

"I take great pleasure in announcing the capture, this morn- 
ing, of an entire rebel regiment — 115 officers and men — by the 
First Division, Twentieth Corps, whilst advancing its lines in 
obedience to my orders of last night. The position gained is very 
advantageous to us also, as it will enable me to shorten my lines 
considerably and have a better view of the ground in front.'* 

Schofield reported at the same time : ''Colonel Reilly has 
just returned from his reconnaissance to the left. He passed the 
left of the line occupied by the Army of the Tennessee during the 
battle of the 22d, and struck the rebel intrenchments about six 
miles from Atlanta, and three miles from the Decatur road. He 
drove before him a considerable force of cavalry, mostly militia, 
and found a brigade or more of regular infantry in the intrench- 
ments. He kept up his demonstrations during the day and re- 
tired at night with slight loss." 

On the 29th General Howard extended his lines to the right 
quite considerably, and Thomas's two divisions moved on further 
toward East Point. Sherman wanted great activity manifested 
as a diversion until his two cavalry forces, one on each side of 
the Macon road, had time to make a swoop upon the track. He 
said to Howard : "I think we can draw the enemy out of At- 
lanta or force him to the attack, which is to be desired." The 
Federals met with little opposition in extending their right to- 
ward the railroad, at first, and Howard reported that the country 
between him and Turner's Ferry was clear of Confederates. As 
earlv as the 30th Sherman gave Schofield an intimation that he 
would probably transfer his entire army to the west of Atlanta. 
He said : "Our troops are on the Sandtown road. The enemy 
must follow that movement, and if they hold a force on your left 
front, it is only for effect. They will weaken about General 
Stanley. I hope to hear of our cavalry to-morrow. When it is 
back, I will probably shift you over to the right." 

On the 30th the Federal line on the west was extended two 
miles down the Sandtown road, and the new position thoroughly 
intrenched. Slowly but surely it was reaching out to the Macon 
railroad. On the 31st of July Sherman telegraphed Halleck: 
"No change since my last. Weather has been intensely hot, and 
to-dav it is raining hard. General Garrard's cavalry is back. 



456 Atlanta And Its Builders 

General Stoneman placed it at Flat Rock to cover his movement 
south. General Garrard reports the enemy's cavalry all round 
him for two days, when he charged out and went to Latimer's, 
where he heard that General Stoneman had passed Covington, 
so he got two full days' start for Macon. I will not hear of him 
for some days. From rumors among the people, I think he 
struck the road, for it is reported broken at Jonesboro. To- 
morrow night I will move General Schofield to the extreme right 
and draw the enemy out to East Point. His works are too strong 
for an assault, and we cannot spare the ammunition for a bom- 
bardment." 

On the 29th some important assignments were made in the 
Confederate army, owing to the casualties of battle. Major-Gen- 
eral B. F. Cheatham was placed in command of Stewart's corps; 
Major-General Patton Anderson in command of Hindman's di- 
vision, Lee's corps, and Brigadier-General Henry R. Jackson as- 
signed to command Stevens's brigade, Bate's division. On the 
same day Sherman's cavalry raiders struck the Macon road 
about four miles below Jonesboro, tearing up a couple of 
miles of track before strong opposition was made to them. Be- 
sides the cavalry sent in pursuit, a trainload of infantry was sent 
to the scene by General Hood. 

General Hood says of the cavalry operations during and 
after the battle of Ezra Church : "Whilst these operations were 
in progress, Wheeler and Jackson were in hot pursuit of the Fed- 
eral cavalry; General Lewis's infantry brigade having been sent 
to Jonesboro, the point about which I supposed the raiders 
would strike our communications. 

"At an early hour on the 29th dispatches were received from 
various points upon the Macon road to the effect that General 
Wheeler had successfully checked the enemy at Latimer's, and 
was quietly awaiting developments. On our left, the Federals 
succeeded in eluding our cavalry, for a time, by skirmishing with 
our main body, whilst their main force moved round to the rear 
and cut the telegraph lines at Fairburn and Palmetto. General 
Jackson, however, soon discovered the ruse, and marched rap- 
idly toward Fayetteville and Jonesboro, the direction in 
which the Federals had moved. The enemy succeeded in de- 



Cavalry Raids And Stoneman s Capture 457 

stroying a wagon-train at the former place, in capturing one or 
two quartermasters who afterward made their escape, and in 
striking the Macon railroad about four miles below Jonesboro, 
where the work of destruction was begun in earnest. 

"General Lewis, within three hours after having received 
the order, had placed his men on the cars and was in Jonesboro 
with his brigade ready for action. Meantime Jackson was 
coming up with his cavalry, when the Federals became alarmed 
and abandoned their work, but not without having destroyed 
about a mile and a half of the road, which was promptly re- 
paired. 

"While Jackson followed in pursuit and Lewis returned to 
Atlanta, Wheeler moved across from Latimer's, with a portion of 
his command, in rear of this body of the enemy, leaving General 
Iverson to pursue General Stoneman, who, after somewhat fur- 
ther damaging the Augusta railroad and burning the bridges 
across Walnut Creek and the Oconee River, had moved against 
Macon. 

"These operations had been ordered by General Sherman 
upon a grand scale; picked men and horses had been placed un- 
der the command of Generals McCook and Stoneman, with the 
purpose to destroy our sole line of communication, and to release 
at Andersonville 34,000 Federal prisoners. 

"These raiders, under McCook, came in contact with Gen- 
eral Roddey's cavalry at Newnan, and were there held in check 
till Wheeler's and Jackson's troops came up; whereupon the 
combined forces, directed by General Wheeler, attacked the en- 
emy with vigor and determination, and finally routed them. 
Whilst these operations were progressing in the vicinity of New- 
nan, General Cobb was gallantly repelling the assault of Stone- 
man at Macon, when Iverson came up and engaged the enemy 
with equal spirit and success. 

"The flanks of the Federal army were at this juncture so 
well protected by the Chattahoochee and the deep ravines which 
run down into the river, that my antagonist was enabled to throw 
his entire force of cavalry against the Macon road; and but for 
the superiority of the Confederate cavalry he might have suc- 
ceeded to such extent as to cause us great annoyance and subject 
our troops to short rations for a time. 



458 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"After the utter failure of this experiment, General Sherman 
perceived that his mounted force, about 12,000 in number, in 
concert with a corps of infantry in support, could not so effectu- 
ally destroy our main line of communication as to compel us to 
evacuate Atlanta." 

General Wheeler's report gives a complete and very inter- 
esting account of the great Confederate cavalry successes. The 
following is taken from it: "About this time I discovered that 
General Stoneman, with 2,200 men, had moved early that morn- 
ing on toward Covington with the intention, according to state- 
ments of prisoners, of continuing his march toward Macon. I 
felt unauthorized with my orders to pursue Stoneman's force of 
2,200 men in person, particularly as I had received a dispatch 
from General Shoup, chief of staff, that the left of the army 
was also threatened by a raid. I, therefore, ordered General 
Iverson, with his own, General Allen's, and Colonel Breckin- 
ridge's brigades to follow Stoneman rapidly and attack him 
wherever found. While this order was being executed I re- 
ceived additional dispatches from General Shoup stating that a 
large cavalry force, estimated at over 3,000, had crossed the 
Chattahoochee near Campbellton, and was making its way to- 
ward the Macon railroad. General Shoup further stated that he 
feared Brigadier-General Jackson could not check its movements, 
and that General Hood desired me to move immediately to oppose 
this force with such troops as could be spared. I immediately or- 
dered Ashby's brigade, under General Humes, which was then 
on the inarch to join me, to move rapidly to Jonesboro. I 
ordered General Kelly to remain and hold Garrard's division in 
check with Dibrell's brigade, and to send Anderson's brigade 
after me on the Jonesboro road. By riding rapidly I arrived 
at Jonesboro with Ashby's brigade, 500 strong, which I had 
overtaken on the march. I here learned that the enemy had 
struck the railroad some six miles south of that point. I ar- 
rived at that point about dark and found the enemy had moved 
off on the Fayetteville road. A courier with a dispatch, and a staff 
officer whom I had sent to communicate with General Jack- 
son, met me with a message from General Jackson to the effect 
that if I would press the enemy's rear he would gain their front 



Cavalry Raids And Stoneman's Capture 459 

and thus secure his capture. I immediately replied to General 
Jackson, agreeing to the proposition. 

"Upon arriving at Fayetteville about midnight I learned 
that the enemy has passed through that place without meeting 
any opposition whatever, and was then not more than an hour 
in advance of me. I pressed on rapidly and overtook his rear 
at Line Creek. The enemy had destroyed the bridge and were 
holding the opposite side with troops in strong barricades. With 
great difficulty the enemy was dislodged and driven from the 
bank. After an hour's hard labor a bridge was constructed and 
my command passed over. I had with me at this time about 400 
men, having traveled so rapidly that a number of my horses had 
been absolutely unable to keep up with the column, and General 
Anderson, whom I had ordered to follow me, had not, on ac- 
count of the rapidity of my march, been heard from. After 
crossing the bridge I pressed on rapidly, in the extreme darkness 
encountering barricades every few hundred yards, the first inti- 
mation of the enemy being a volley from their small-arms. 

"At daylight I struck the enemy's line of battle. I imme- 
diately attacked and drove him from his position, routing the 
entire line and capturing 200 prisoners with their horses, equip- 
ments and arms. In this engagement and the running fight 
which ensued more thon 40 of the enemy were left dead on the 
field. My entire force, including my reserves, which were not 
engaged, did not exceed 500 men. I pushed on, continually 
engaging the enemy's rear guard, until about 9 a. m., when they 
succeeded by a rapid movement in gaining some two miles upon 
my advance. Upon reaching a point two miles from Newnan 
I again overtook him and captured 20 prisoners in the engage- 
ment which ensued. My command had up to this time traveled 
about seventy miles without having halted. 

"About this time Colonel Cook, with a portion of his regi- 
ment, and General Ross, with two small regiments, each about 
100 strong, reported to me, increasing my force to about 700 
men. I here found that on the head of McCook's column ap- 
proaching town he had observed that Confederate troops were in 



460 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the town, and without engaging them, turned off, leaving the 
town to the right. Feeling certain he would attempt to come 
into the LaGrange road below the town, I ordered Colonel Ash- 
by to move through Newnan and down the LaGrange road to 
gain his front if possible. I then sent scouts and pickets out 
upon all roads by which the enemy could approach the town, and 
moved with the remainder of my command, now less than 300 
men, down between the railroad and the main LaGrange road in 
the hope that I might strike the enemy's flank. After march- 
ing about three miles I discovered the enemy in a dense wood 
forming a line, the right flank of which was scarcely fifty yards 
in my front. Almost at the same moment I received a dispatch 
from Colonel Ashby, informing me that he had struck the head 
of the enemy's column just as it was entering the main LaGrange 
road, three miles and a half below Newnan, and that the enemy 
was forming a line of battle dismounted. Feeling that I was 
upon the flanks of the force to which he referred, I determined 
to attack immediately, notwithstanding the great disparity of 
numbers, the enemy having fully ten times my force. I imme- 
diately sent orders to Colonel Ashby to engage the enemy in his 
front, while with the remainder of my troops I attacked with 
great vigor. I met with a strong resistance at first, but in a few 
moments the enemy gave way, when with a shout and a gallant 
charge, the entire line was thrown into confusion and commenced 
a disorderly retreat. We pursued rapidly, capturing a great 
number of prisoners, and divided the enemy's forces. 

"While pursuing the enemy, I heard firing in my rear, when 
I was surprised to learn that General Ross had left his horses 
where he had first dismounted. Feeling convinced that they 
were being attacked, I immediately recalled the line, returned, 
and drove off the enemy, capturing a number of prisoners and 
horses. Immediately after this success, and before I had re- 
established my lines, the enemy made a most determined charge, 
driving back a portion of my line and throwing the whole of it 
into temporary confusion. In a moment my troops were rallied 
and the enemy repulsed. The fight had now lasted two hours. 
We had driven the enemy from every position and captured 400 
prisoners, including three brigade commanders, one of whom lay 



Cavalry Raids And Stoncmans Capture 461 

wounded upon the field. At this moment General Anderson 
came up with his brigade, 400 strong, which was thrown into 
position. While doing so, General Anderson was wounded, and 
the brigade left under command of Colonel Bird. 

"Upon advancing my line, I ascertained that the enemy had 
fallen back and taken a strong position in the edge of a wood, 
with a large field in front, and a deep ravine, only passable at cer- 
tain points, intervening between my troops and the enemy's posi- 
tion. The enemy had thrown up strong barricades and was 
using his artillery freely. General Roddey, who had been in the 
town, and had not been engaged, came up with about 600 men, 
and was placed in position on my left. He advised strongly 
against attacking the position. I immediately moved my troops 
to the right and pressed down upon the enemy's left flank. Upon 
discovering this movement, the enemy commenced retreating. I 
pressed rapidly down the road upon their flank, cutting off nearly 
two entire regiments, which surrendered in a body with all their 
artillery, wagons and ambulances. The entire column was thrown 
into disorder, and a number of prisoners, arms, horses, and 2 
stands of colors were captured in the pursuit which ensued. Some 
300 prisoners, mostly quartermasters, commissaries and other 
non-combatants whom the enemy had captured the previous day, 
were also captured by our troops. General Roddey, on account 
of the fatigued condition of his men, had been authorized by me 
to retire to Newnan before this movement commenced. After 
pursuing about four miles I found the enemy had become very 
much scattered through the woods and fields, and that the only 
party claiming organization had been severed nearly equally. 
One column, estimated at about 400 men, under General McCook 
in person, had moved at a gallop toward the mouth of New 
River, and the other party, under Colonel Brownlow, had moved 
on by-roads toward the Chattahoochee River, near Franklin. I 
ordered Colonel Bird, commanding Anderson's brigade, to pursue 
the party with McCook vigorously. In anticipation that the 
enemy would take the direction pursued by the other party, I had 
some time previously sent Colonel McKenzie, with his own and 
the Third Arkansas Regiment, to gain the front of the enemy 
moving toward Franklin. 



462 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"I omitted to state that a short time before dark General 
Jackson arrived, but his troops, numbering only about 300 men, 
remained in rear and did not come up to engage the enemy. After 
dark I ordered General Jackson to take his entire command to the 
battle-field and take charge of all the prisoners which had not 
been sent to the rear, to gather up the arms, wagons, horses, ar- 
tillery, and all other public property, and take them to Newnan 
and await my orders. The balance of my command left with 
me I ordered to search the woods and gather together the strag- 
gling parties of the enemy who had been cut off and were scat- 
tered over the country. Colonel McKenzie was very fortunate 
in his movement and succeeded in capturing between 200 and 
300 prisoners. Colonel Bird was not so successful. His in- 
structions from me were to press on rapidly after the enemy, and 
to report by courier to me his progress and the force he found 
himself following. It was full daylight before I heard from 
him at all, and then I learned that he had fallen asleep and allowed 
the demoralized mass to escape to the river. 

"On my arrival at that point in the morning I found that 
some 400 of the enemy had succeeded in crossing after abandon- 
ing some 200 horses and equipments, throwing away most of 
their arms. These were still pursued on the other side of the 
river and a number captured, thus completing the entire destruc- 
tion of the entire command. This proved to be a picked body 
of cavalry, and its destruction destroyed the flower of General 
Sherman's vast cavalry organization. General Iverson had been 
equally successful in his pursuit of General Stoneman, whom he 
met, defeated, and captured, with 500 of his command, some 
twenty miles from Macon. The remainder of Stoneman's com- 
mand was much demoralized and scattered. Colonel Breckin- 
ridge pursued and, in successive engagements, defeated and cap- 
tured the only organized party which attempted escape. 

"Thus ended in most ignominious defeat and destruction the 
most stupendous cavalry operation of the war. As was acknowl- 
edged by the brigade commanders captured, their plan was to 
unite these columns on the railroad north of Macon, destroy the 
railroad, then move rapidly upon and release the 30,000 prisoners 
of war we held at Andersonville. In this he was thoroughly 



Cavalry Raids And Stoneman's Capture 463 

thwarted at the cost of about 5,000 men, with their horses, arms, 
equipments, colors, cannon, etc. The force which was sent on 
this expedition numbered as follows, all picked cavalry : 

Garrard's division 4,000 

McCook's division 3,200 

Stoneman's division 2,200 

Total 9400 

"Garrard returned to the army without sustaining much dam- 
age except the morale of defeat. McCook, according to the 
enemy's own accounts, only succeeded in returning with 500 men, 
most of whom were dismounted and unarmed, while none but a 
few stragglers from Stoneman's column ever returned, making 
their entire loss over 5,000 men. Of these I am informed 3,200 
were lodged in prison, and the remainder killed, wounded, or 
scattered through the country. McCook's column was a picked 
body of men selected from his own division and a division a 
short time previously brought from Tennessee by Major-General 
Rousseau. All this was accomplished by a force of cavalry not 
exceeding an aggregate of 3,800 men." 

It is not necessary to read Confederate reports to learn the 
extent of the defeat of the Union cavalry. The Federal reports 
show that the blow administered by Wheeler and Iverson was a 
crushing one, sorely crippling that arm of Sherman's forces, as 
he himself admits. The reports of the opposite sides differ as 
to figures and somewhat as to details, but agree pretty well on the 
main result. The reader was no doubt struck by the remark- 
able smallness of Wheeler's force, according to his statement, 
and astonished at the tremendous numerical odds he alleges he 
overcame. The Federal cavalry officers who escaped from the 
Newnan disaster, notably Colonel Brownlow, commander of a 
brigade, declared that Wheeler's forces were "overwhelming," 
numerically. Iverson's report of the defeat and surrender of 
Stoneman was not available, but the report of Stoneman him- 
self, transmitted to Sherman through the courtesy of his cap- 
tors, is reproduced as follows : 



464 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Macon, Ga., August 6, 1864. 
General : In regard to the operations of my command 
from the time I left the army up to the time I turned back from 
near this place, I will only say now that I feel assured, when you 
know what was done and why it was done, you will be satisfied 
with reasons and results. All I wish to say now, through the 
medium of flag of truce, is solely in regard to how I and a small 
portion of my command became prisoners of war. Before I had 
completed what I desired to accomplish I learned that a force of 
the enemy's cavalry was close upon my rear, and the only course 
for me to pursue to get out was to turn upon and, if possible, 
whip this force. This I think we might have done had my com- 
mand fought as it ought to and as I hoped it would have done. 
Without entering now into particulars, we were whipped, and 
this principally on account of the bad conduct of the Kentucky 
brigade in the attack during the morning, and in fact throughout 
the day. In the afternoon the enemy attacked us, when Cap- 
ron's brigade gave way at once and was followed by Adams's 
(Kentucky) brigade, leaving me with Biddle's (Indiana) brig- 
ade and the section of artillery to contend against the whole force 
of the enemy, and cover the retreat of the remainder of my force. 
A portion of this brigade I sent to hold a cross-road and keep the 
enemy from getting between me and the main force, pack train, 
etc. This also gave way and followed the rest, so that near the 
end of the day I found myself with about 200 of the Fifth In- 
diana Cavalry and the section of artillery. This regiment had 
been engaged nearly the whole of the day previous. I insisted 
on continuing the contest and, if taken prisoners at all, upon be- 
ing taken fighting, but the officers with me protested that, being 
without ammunition and surrounded, our escape was next to im- 
possible; that there was no use in fighting longer; that we had 
accomplished our object in covering the retreat of the rest of the 
command until it was well under way, and that in justice to all 
concerned we should surrender. To extricate the section of ar- 
tillery and the men with it was impossible. My own horse had 
been shot under me and I was scarcely able to mount the worn- 
down one and the only one I could find to replace the one I had 
lost, and our chances of escape were so small that I consented to 



Cavalry Raids And Stoiiemau's Capture 465 

be taken prisoners of war, and as such our treatment has been 
everything that could have been expected. Our loss in killed 
and wounded was quite large. 

I understand from captured fugitives that they were in- 
formed that I had surrendered the whole command, and that the 
order was given for every one to save himself. I have not heard 
from the Kentucky brigade since it left. Capron's brigade I learn 
was considerably cut up, and several hundred of it captured. I 
feel better satisfied with myself to be a prisoner of war, much as 
a hate it, than to be amongst those who owe their escape to con- 
siderations of self-preservation. 

I am, general, very respectfully, etc., 

George Stoneman. 
Maj.-Gcn. U. S. Army, Prisoner of War. 

Major-General Sherman. 

Colonel Adams brought most of the Kentucky brigade back 
safely to Atlanta, after many narrow escapes, but Colonel Capron 
did not fare as well with his Illinois brigade, which was practic- 
ally annihilated. Capron, with a handful of followers, is said 
to have crept into Atlanta afoot. The best account of Stone- 
man's unsuccessful raid on Macon, from a Union standpoint, is 
that of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert W. Smith, assistant inspector- 
general of cavalry, Department of the Ohio, who accompanied 
Stoneman and made his escape back to Sherman's army with 
Adams's brigade. After narrating the rather uneventful jour- 
ney of the cavalry as far as Clinton, Colonel Smith proceeds : 

"July 30th, column moved at 4 a. m. Colonel Adams's 
brigade was again sent to the right to strike the river at some 
point above Macon, sound it for fords or examine for ferries or 
other means of crossing, and feel the enemy as he advanced down 
the river and drive him in if found. A detachment of the Four- 
teenth Illinois, under command of Major Davidson, was sent to 
the left with instructions to strike the Macon and Milledgeville 
railroad as near the latter point as possible and destroy it. When 
the column was within five miles of Macon, another detachment 
was sent to the left to strike the same railroad at or near Gordon. 
Both these parties reached the railroad with little interruption, 

30-1 



466 Atlanta And Its Builders 

and each burned some small bridges and culverts and tore up the 
road at these points for a distance of two or three miles. They 
also destroyed three trains of cars, and three engines that hap- 
pened to be upon the road at the time, between the points above 
named. There were twenty-two box-cars loaded with commis- 
sary and quartermaster stores, and some stock and three passen- 
ger coaches with citizens and soldiers aboard. All the cars and 
engines were completely destroyed. The main column advanced 
in the meantime on the main road toward Macon, and met the 
enemy's pickets about three miles out. Colonel Adams had 
moved down the river, and when about one mile above Macon 
met the enemy in force, and gave him battle, driving him back 
until he fell in cover of his own battery on the hill near the river. 
and about half a mile above Fort Hawkins. Colonel Adams was 
then unable to advance any farther, but continued to engage the 
enemy at this point, until his withdrawal was ordered at 3 p. m. 
In the meantime Capron's and Biddle's brigades were engaging 
the enemy in front, and to the left of Macon, but with little suc- 
cess, the enemv being protected in his works and lines by the bat- 
tery in Fort Hawkins. Our battery could get no position from 
which it could operate effectively against that of the enemy in 
Fort Hawkins. We threw a few shells into the city. At 3 
p. m. General Stoneman. finding it impossible to reach the rail- 
road bridge with the force he had, ordered a withdrawal of all the 
forces, and directed the march to commence southward, sending 
Colonel Adams's brigade in advance, with a view to cross over 
the river and railroad south of Macon, some seven or eight miles, 
and continue on in that direction, as. I suppose, with a view to 
strike down through this State, and out at Pensacola or other 
favorable point. When the head of the column, with the pack 
train, had advanced in this direction some two miles, a scout re- 
ported a large column of rebel cavalry coming into Macon, esti- 
mated at from 1.000 to 1.500 strong. Fearing that this column 
would reach the ferry, where it was designed we would cross, and 
intercept our column, the general ordered a countermarch, and 
started back on the road we had gone, designing at that time, I 
know, to strike out in an easterly course, in the direction of Mill- 
edgeville. as soon as practicable, for he thus expressed himself to 



Cavalry Raids And Stoneman's Capture 467 

me personally, and I do not yet know why this course was not 
pursued. We came on in the direction of Clinton, on the same 
route we had gone down, arriving at Clinton just at dark. Here 
the advance drove in a picket of the enemy, supposed to be fifty 
strong, some of them retreating west from Clinton, and the re- 
mainder north, along the route we had pursued as we advanced 
toward Macon. The general ordered the column to advance 
north along our old route, and about 9 p. m. the advance began to 
skirmish with the enemy, which was kept up. we advancing very 
slowly, until about 1 o'clock at night, when the skirmishing be- 
came so heavy in our front, as to prevent any further advance. 
We had now got some six miles north of Clinton, and a halt 
ordered. 

"July 31. our advance kept up a heavy skirmish with the 
enemy until daylight, when an advance was ordered. We had 
gone about one mile and a half, when very general and heavy 
skirmishing commenced. A line of battle was at once formed, 
and the enemy strongly felt, which resulted in the development 
that the enemy was there in force, upon ground of his own selec- 
tion, with strong works and barricades, on an elevation in the 
road in our front, with his lines of battle extending out from 
this point in the shape of a V, completely covering and enfilading 
our right and left flanks. General Stoneman at once prepared 
his command for a vigorous attack upon the enemy, advancing 
himself with the skirmish line. We were repulsed almost along 
our whole line. The enemy charged upon our left, and were in 
turn temporarily checked, but still kept gaining ground upon us. 
and using his battery with most wonderful effect and accuracy. 
The fight thus continued, with doubtful results, until about 2 p. 
m.. when it became apparent that the enemy was being reinforced 
directlv in our rear by the force that we had fought the day be- 
fore at Macon. The fight then became general all along the line, 
and from that time until the surrender we lost heavily in killed 
and wounded, but the enemy suffered none the less. About 4 
p. m. General Stuiieman. his staff, and most of the brigade com- 
manders, held a consultation, and it was thought best to make a 
desperate effort to cut our way out to our right rear, as this 
seemed to be the weakest part of the enemy's lines. isl is the 



468 Atlanta And Its Builders 

general had given his directions for this movemnt, and the re- 
spective officers were starting to their commands, the enemy 
opened a battery on our right and left flank, and continued their 
fire from the one in front, followed by a general charge. Our 
lines gave way, and fell back. I was ordered to a certain point 
to rally a line. Whilst doing this I became separated from the 
general. The line soon gave way again, the enemy then being 
within fifty yards, both in front and on the left flank. I at that 
moment met Colonel Adams, who had just come from General 
S[toneman] with permission to cut out if he could, stating, more- 
over, that the general was about to surrender, but that he desired 
all to get out who could, and he would remain in person and en- 
gage the enemy as long as possible, so as to give those making 
their escape as much start as possible. This we know he did, 
for we could still hear cannonading when we were out some two 
or three miles from the battle-field. I came out with Colonel 
Adams and his brigade. Colonel Capron had escaped a few 
minutes before, with a part of the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, 
Eighth Michigan Cavalry, and the First Ohio Squadron. Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Matson came out with most of the Sixth Indiana 
Cavalry, all striking out in a northeasterly direction. There 
thus escaped about 1,200 or 1,300 men, at least two-thirds, if not 
three-quarters, of the command that was left at the time the bat- 
tle closed. Colonel Adams came by way of Eatonton, passing it 
some five miles before we halted, being then about thirty-five 
miles from the battle-field. Colonel Capron came farther to the 
left, but getting out about as far as Colonel Adams. 

"August 1, to-day Adams's brigade was joined about noon by 
a detachment of the Eighth Michigan, under command of Major 
Buck, and the Sixth Indiana, under command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Matson, came through Madison about 2 p. m., and here 
destroyed a large amount of commissary and quartermaster 
stores. Burnt some coffee and 50,000 pounds of bacon. The 
march was continued until dark, when we were joined by Colonel 
Capron and his command, and the column then moved on until 
about midnight, when we stopped twelve miles from the bridge 
crossing the Oconee River, near Athens, Ga. 

"August 2, to-day we approached the Oconee River, near 
Watkinsville, hoping to be able to cross at this point and destroy 



Cavalry Raids And Stoneman's Capture 469 

the armory and other government works at Athens. Adams's 
brigade was in the advance, and when within five miles of the 
river captured 6 of the enemy's pickets, and within three miles, 
captured all the reserve picket, consisting of about 20 men. On 
his approach to the river at the bridge, he was opened upon by a 
rifled battery. It was then thought impracticable to attempt a 
crossing there, as we were not in a situation to bring on a fight 
that might last for some time, for we were very nearly out of 
ammunition. It was then agreed to follow up the Oconee river 
in the direction of Jefferson, and this intention communicated 
to Colonel Capron, who was then in reserve two miles to the rear. 
For some reason, not yet known, Colonel Capron did not come 
on the road after us, but got off farther to the left. We came 
that night to a point about sixteen miles northeast of Lawrence- 
ville, and halted at midnight, the command lying to horse, un- 
saddled, without going into camp. Our command was very 
much exhausted and worn out, but few having had any sleep or 
rest for four days and nights. August 3d started early, had 
gone about two and a half miles, when a soldier came galloping 
through the woods shouting, "Capron has been attacked and cut 
all to pieces!" Adams went on double-quick to the road on 
which we learned Capron's command had been attacked, and 
there soon discovered the evidences of a routed and defeated com- 
mand. Learning the direction they had gone, Adams, with his 
advance, charged after the rebels, overtaking the rear of their 
column half a mile distant. He charged them, driving them in 
great confusion, and wounding and killing, he thinks, some 40; 
but knowing his ammunition was nearly expended, and that there 
was still a rebel brigade pushing on to strike our left and cut us 
off from the river, we turned at right angles to the left, and came 
in the direction of the Chattahoochee, knowing that our only hope 
was to cross it at some point before night. All the information 
we could in the meantime get from anyone was that General 
Sherman had fallen back north of the river, and if this was true, 
our situation was still more perilous. We struck the Chatta- 
hoochee about twenty-three miles northeast of Marietta ; sun an 
hour high; found an old but difficult ford, and succeeded in get- 
ting the command all over about 9 p. m., and went into camp. 



470 Atlanta And Its Builders 

August 4th started at daylight and arrived at Marietta at 1 1 
a. m. Colonel Adams returned with about 490 men, having 
lost some 40 on the 31st ultimo in killed, wounded, and captured, 
about 20 during the march here. Most of them were lost at 
night by getting behind, and falling asleep from exhaustion, and 
who, no doubt, became lost or were picked up by the enemy." 

That portion of Colonel Capron's report which refers to his 
hard experience after becoming separated from Adams, is given 
as follows : "The whole command now moved forward toward 
Watkinsville, arriving there the morning of the 2d instant, and, 
after consultation with Colonel Adams, it was thought best to at- 
tempt to cross the Oconee River at Athens. Colonel Adams was 
to make a demonstration on the town, with the understanding 
that if he could not effect a crossing at the bridge he was to send 
a courier and guide, and I was to join his command and cross 
the river at a ford two and a half miles above the town. The 
courier and guide reported after it was found that we could not 
cross the bridge, as it was protected with artillery. The guide 
mistook the road, leading me six miles away from the route 
agreed upon. After a delay of six hours in trying to open com- 
munication with Colonel Adams, and learning that a heavy body 
of cavalry and infantry was approaching me from the right, I 
moved forward on the Hog Mountain road to Jug Tavern, 
eighteen miles, when I halted and fed, and again moved forward 
on the same road until I passed the Jefferson and Lawrenceville 
road. Finding my men and animals completely exhausted, hav- 
ing marched fifty-six miles in twenty-four hours, and in their 
saddles almost constantly since the battle of the 31st ultimo, I 
concluded to go into camp and rest for two hours. For several 
hours previous to going into camp I found it necessary to have a 
rear guard to bring up the men, who were constantly falling out 
by the roadside fast asleep on their horses, being so worn out for 
want of rest. I also ascertained that I had passed all the roads 
from which I was liable to be flanked. Selecting my camping- 
ground, I placed the Eighth Michigan Cavalry on picket in my 
advance and Major Davidson's battalion, of the Fourteenth Illi- 
nois Cavalry, in my rear, they being the only men who had arms 
and ammunition in the command. A large body of negroes, 



Cavalry Raids And Sfoncman's Capture 471 

who had followed the command, and who had been ordered away 
to prevent confusion if I was attacked, fell in the rear and lay be- 
tween rear pickets and the main body. 

Just before daylight, the morning of the 3d instant, a body 
of the enemy's cavalry came up in my rear, and, as near as I can 
ascertain, passed around the main body of the pickets on both 
flanks, striking the road where the negroes lay. The negroes 
became panic-stricken and rushed into the camp of my men, who 
were yet asleep (we having been in camp about one hour and a 
half), throwing them into confusion. The enemy now charged 
into my camp, driving and scattering everything before them. 
Every effort was made by the officers to rally the men and check 
the enemy's charge, but it was found impossible to keep them in 
line, as most of them were without arms and ammunition. Par- 
tial lines were formed, but, owing to the confusion which ensued 
in the darkness, they soon gave away. A stampede now took 
place, a portion of the men rushing for the woods and the balance 
running clown the road and attempting to cross a bridge over the 
Mulberry River, in our front. The enemy still continued to 
charge my men, killing, wounding, and capturing a large num- 
ber. In their rush across the bridge it gave way, precipitating 
many of them into the river. The men now scattered in every 
direction. I became separated from my command, and made 
my escape through the woods, arriving at this place on the morn- 
ing of the 7th instant." 

Sherman sent this explanation of his cavalry misfortunes to 
Halleck, on the 7th : "In order that you may have a proper 
understanding of the recent cavalry operations from this army 
that terminated somewhat unsuccessfully, I will explain. On 
the 25th of July I had driven the enemy to his inner intrench- 
ments of Atlanta, and had by Garrard's division of cavalry 
broken the road leading to Augusta about the branches of the Oc- 
mulgee, forty miles east, and had by McPherson's army taken up 
two sections of rails of about five miles east, near Stone Moun- 
tain and Decatur. I then proposed to throw the Army of the 
Tennessee rapidly round by the right, so as to approach the only 
remaining railroad left to the enemy, leading due south for six 
miles, and then branching to Macon on the one hand and West 



472 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Point, on the Chattahoochee, on the other. To accomplish this 
I placed General Stoneman with his own division of cavalry, 
2,300 strong, and Garrard's division, 3.500, on my left near De- 
catur, and on the right General McCook with a small division of 
ahout 1,300, and a part of Harrison's, just arrived under Rous- 
seau, from the road to Opelika. This force was about 1,700. 
Both expeditions started punctually on the 27th, and acted under 
my written orders, No. 42, a copy of which is enclosed. The 
day before starting, General Stoneman addressed me a note, a 
copy of which is enclosed, asking leave, after fulfilling his orders, 
to push on and release our prisoners known to be confined at 
Macon and Andersonville. I gave my consent in a letter, a copy 
of which is also enclosed. Nothing but the natural and intense 
desire to accomplish an end so inviting to one's feelings would 
have drawn me to commit a military mistake, at such a crisis, as 
that of dividing and risking my cavalry, so necessary to the suc- 
cess of my campaign. Stoneman ordered Garrard to move to 
Flat Rock, doubtless to attract the attention of the enemy, while 
he passed behind him and on to McDonough and the railroad 
about Lovejoy's, where he would have met McCook, but for some 
reason he did not go to McDonough, but to Covington, and down 
on the east side of the Ocmulgee to Clinton, when he sent detach- 
ments that burned the Oconee bridge, seventeen locomotives, 
over 100 cars, tore down telegraph wire, and damaged the rail- 
road east of Macon considerably. He attempted to get intt, 
Macon ; shelled the town, but fell back to Clinton. Finding the 
enemy gathering in too large a force, he seems to have turned 
back, but the roads were obstructed, and he fought till his ammu- 
nition was exhausted, and he seems to have given up. He told 
his brigade commanders, Adams and Capron, he would with 700 
men engage the attention of the enemy, while they might escape. 
Adams has come in with his brigade, 900 strong; Capron is not 
in, and I think the bulk of his command were captured. About 
forty stragglers of it have got in. I have no doubt Stoneman 
surrendered in the manner and at the time described by the 
Macon paper I sent you yesterday. Garrard remained at Flat 
Rock until the 29th, and hearing nothing of Stoneman he came 
in without loss or serious opposition. McCook crossed the 



Cavalry Raids And Stoncman's Capture 473 

Chattahoochee at Rivertown, below Campbellton, by a pontoon 
bridge, which he sent back, intending to come in by a circuit east 
and north. At 2 p. m. of the 28th he left the banks of the Chat- 
tahoochee and struck the West Point branch at Magnolia Station, 
which he burned and tore up track. He then by a rapid night 
inarch pushed for Fayetteville, where he found the roads and by- 
ways full of army wagons belonging to the army in Atlanta, em- 
bracing the headquarters teams of all the generals. All were 
burned good, and about 800 mules sabered. He then pushed on 
for the railroad at Lovejoy's, where he destroyed full two miles 
of track, the depot, a lot of cotton and stores, and carried off five 
miles of telegraph wire. Up to that time he had not encoun- 
tered any opposition, for Stoneman's and Garrard's movements 
out from Decatur had attracted the enemy's cavalry. Having, 
as he supposed, broken the road enough, and supposing his best 
way back was by Newnan, he turned in that direction. He had 
73 officers and 350 men prisoners, mounted on all sorts of horses 
and mules ; still he reached Newnan, where the enemy began to 
gather about him and oppose him. He thinks two brigades of 
dismounted cavalry, acting as infantry, had been stopped en route 
from Mississippi for Atlanta by the break he had made in the 
railroad and happened there. These, in addition to two divi- 
sions of cavalry, headed him off whichever way he turned. He 
fought hard for five hours, until he exhausted his artillery ammu- 
nition, when he chopped up the wheels, spiked and plugged the 
guns. He then kept Harrison's brigade, and directed the smal- 
ler ones, commanded by General Croxton and Colonel Torrey, 
to cut out. He continued to fight until near night, when he 
dashed through an infantry line, reached the Chattahoochee, 
crossed his men, and got in. Harrison is a prisoner, I think ; of 
Croxton I can hear nothing. But nearly all the men not killed 
and wounded are in. McCook left his prisoners free, and his 
wounded in charge of his surgeons. His management was all 
that could be expected throughout." 



CHAPTER XXXII 

REACHING FOR THE MACON ROAD. 

Disappointed at the failure of his attempts to seriously inter- 
rupt traffic on the Macon railroad by cavalry raids, Sherman de- 
termined to inaugurate a flank movement with his whole army 
from the west side of Atlanta, gradually working around until 
he was in possession of the coveted railroad. In doing this he 
did not propose to relinquish his lines around the city to the 
north and northeast, but to hold them with light reserves, as he 
knew the enemy would concentrate his fighting corps in front of 
his flanking operations and leave the old lines to be held by 
militia supporting the batteries. After the battle of Ezra Church, 
when Schofield was transferred to the right of Howard, the 
Union line of battle around Atlanta measured thirteen miles, 
studded with artillery. To every portion of this line Sherman had 
run his field telegraph, and from his headquarters kept in close 
touch with every movement of his troops, transmitting and re- 
ceiving replies to his orders in a few moments. When he first 
began to feel toward East Point from the Ezra Church battle- 
field, the Federal commander was confident of "getting astride of 
the railroad" in a few days and compelling Hood to evacuate At- 
lanta from lack of supplies, or force his antagonist to a general 
engagement. But things did not move as rapidly or as easily as 
Sherman had planned and anticipated. Hood made no more sal- 
lies, but stood doggedly on the defensive, meeting every move of 
his opponent with a counter-play calculated to delay, if not balk, 
him. The long operations from Ezra Church to Jonesboro, 
where Sherman finally got upon the railroad, were like a game of 
chess, involving science rather than force. Every foot of the 
way was traversed with pick and shovel, and the Confederate 
veterans renewed their Johnstonian practice of "backing and dig- 

474 



Reaching For The Macon Road 475 

ging." While there was no battle of note until the 31st of Au- 
gust, nearly every day witnessed a fierce skirmish, and on sev- 
eral occasions the encounters were heavier than could properly 
be designated as skirmishes. General Blair aptly described the 
situation in both armies when he dismissed this whole period in 
his general report with two or three lines, as follows : "The com- 
mand was occupied for 28 days in making approaches, digging 
rifle-pits, and erecting batteries, being subjected day and night 
to a galling fire of artillery and musketry." 

To Generals Thomas and Howard, Sherman imparted his 
intentions as follows: "I have ordered General Garrard in on 
our left, and to-morrow night will let him fill with a skirmish line 
General Schofield's position, and move all of General Schofield to 
the right of General Howard, and wish the divisions of Generals 
Davis and Ward in reserve on the right to strike a blow beyond 
our new right flank when intrenched. Our right flank must be 
advanced in close and absolute contact with the enemy, and with 
General Schofield on that flank we can break through somewhere, 
the same as our Kennesaw move. Study the road so that Generals 
Schofield and Howard may have a line close up to the enemy, as 
close as possible." 

Hood lost no time in meeting Sherman's new movement. 
At the risk of weakening his line in front of Atlanta, he sent his 
best troops to the southwest approaches of the city and far down 
on the Macon road, determined to resist to the last extremity the 
enemy's designs upon his line of communication. With a force 
so inferior to Sherman's numerically, he would have stood little 
show in this game had it not been for the state troops sent by 
Governor Brown to help him hold Atlanta. The militia an- 
swered very well in the old trenches and had demonstrated that 
they would fight on occasion. A detailed account of the services 
rendered by the Georgia militia at Atlanta will be found further 
on in this volume. 

On the night of the first of August the Army of the Ohio, 
under Schofield. was quietly transferred from its position on the 
extreme left to a position on the extreme right of the Federal 
army. General Thomas extended his lines to the left to cover 
the line vacated by Schofield, the ground being occupied by Gen- 



476 Atlanta And Its Builders 

eral Stanley's corps, supported by Garrard's cavalry. The orders 
covering this important movement are given below : 

Special Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 

Field Orders, In the Field, near Atlanta, Ga., 

No. 48. August 1, 1864. 

I. During the next series of operations General Thomas will 
be the left, General Howard center, and General Schofield the 
right army. The two divisions of Generals Davis and Ward will 
continue to be held in reserve toward the right, and in case the 
enemy attack that flank, these divisions will report to and during 
the action obey General Schofield's orders. When not engaged 
General Thomas will post them so as to cover his communica- 
tions from the southeast. 

II. Brigadier-General Garrard's cavalry will relieve Gen- 
eral Schofield on the left and occupy in part his trenches, patrol 
the roads about Decatur, and picket toward Roswell. He will 
report to General Thomas, and be prepared to sally out as cavalry 
from his trenches, in case of necessity. 

III. All trains of wagons going to and from the depots of 
Vining's and Marietta will follow roads converging at the rail- 
road bridge, and never go north of Buck Head or south of Tur- 
ner's. 

IV. General Thomas will cause a new infantry flank to be 
prepared on his left, north of the Buck Head road, connecting 
General Stanley's front lines with the old rebel parapet near 
Peachtree Creek. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, 
Aidc-dc-Camp. 

As he extended his line, Sherman felt the need of a larger 
army. He requested the adjutant-general to put negro regiments 
in front of Nashville and other points held by the Federals in the 
rear, and send to the front the veterans who had been left behind 
to do guard duty. He exhibited impatience at the slowness with 
which recruits were being sent to him. "Could not," he asked, 
"some general order be made for white recruits to be sent from 



Reaching For The Macon Road 477 

the states as fast as they are made, to be put in with our old men ? 
Losses in battle and sickness from work and weather is begin- 
ning to tell on the strength of the army." Sherman realized that 
his operations before Atlanta had been handicapped by the re- 
verses of his cavalry, and no sooner learned Stoneman's fate than 
he called for more cavalry. He was disappointed in not being able 
to supply his losses in that arm of the service promptly. He was 
told that there was a great scarcity of horses. 

General Hood suffered from a lack of ammunition and in- 
formed the war department that he was not equipped, in this 
regard, for another battle. His commanders were ordered to use 
every means to reduce the expenditure of ammunition, skirmish- 
ers even being ordered not to fire, except in cases of actual neces- 
sity. Hood felt encouraged, now that Sherman's cavalry was 
crippled, to undertake extensive cavalry operations against Sher- 
man's railroad communication. He telegraphed to Richmond : 
"As soon as I can get the dismounted cavalry General Bragg is 
to send and the militia here I hope to strike the enemy with my 
main force. The recent raids have caused delay in receiving the 
reinforcements referred to. I hope in a few days to send Wheel- 
er, with his cavalry, to break Sherman's communications. The 
two recent engagements have checked his extension on both 
flanks." 

Schofield's troops were well intrenched on the night of the 
2d. He prolonged Howard's line along the branch of Utoy Creek 
about a mile and a half, and reported that he had a good flank. 
His nearest point to the railroad was about a mile and a half. 
The Confederate works were extended parallel with Schofield 
and Howard, on the opposite side of the creek, and as fast as Sher- 
man crept south. Hood kept pace with him. It was evident that 
Sherman's game was to outstretch Hood and finally reach the 
railroad, or to so attenuate the latter's line that it could be easily 
broken through. After he had taken his new position, Scho- 
field wrote Sherman : "The force in front of my right appears 
to be cavalry. To seriously threaten the enemy's flank and rail- 
road communication it will be necessarjr to cross the creek in 
front of my right and reach the Sandtown road, which is about 
a mile beyond the creek. If this move can be made with a suffi- 
ciently large force, the result must be very decisive." 



47 8 Atlanta And Its Builders 

The next move was to cross the branch of Utoy Creek and 
reach the Sandtown road. A partial crossing of the creek was 
effected on the 3d, in the face of a hot skirmish and artillery fire. 
That night Sherman sent a message to Washington which 
showed that he was not yet aware of the fate of Stoneman, and 
that McCook had not been as badly cut up as Wheeler's report 
would indicate. He said : 

"We have had pretty lively times to-day generally, closing 
in, taking some 200 or 300 prisoners. Under the pressure I got 
two divisions across the head of Utoy Creek, well toward the 
railroad, and to-morrow will push still more on that flank. Gen- 
eral McCook, after all, has got in, bringing 1,200 of his men. He 
reports that on July 29 he broke the West Point road at Palmetto, 
and then crossed over to the Macon road, at Lovejoy's, where he 
took up 2 miles of track, burned 2 trains, 100 bales of cotton, 
and 5 miles of telegraph. He fell upon the rebel wagon train 
and burned over 500 wagons and killed 800 mules. He captured 
72 officers and 250 men, but his progress eastward and north, ac- 
cording to the plan, was stopped by a superior force of cavalry 
and he turned toward Newnan. where he was completely sur- 
rounded. He ordered two of his small brigades to make their 
way to the Chattahoochee while he held the enemy. About 500 
of them are in, but the balance, about 1,000, are doubtless cap- 
tured or killed. He then with 1,200 men charged through in 
column, riding down Ross's (Texas) brigade and capturing Ross, 
the commander : but he had to drop all prisoners and incum- 
brances to save his command. He crossed the Chattahoochee be- 
low Franklin and up by Dallas to Marietta. The plan was for him 
to meet General Stoneman at Lovejoy's, but he did not meet 
him. Prisoners report that Yankee cavalry were shelling Macon 
on the 1st instant, so I think General Stoneman has a chance of 
rescuing those prisoners. It was a bold and rash adventure, but 
I sanctioned it, and hoped for its success from its very rashness. 
I think that all Georgia is now in my front, and he may meet 
but little opposition and succeed in releasing those prisoners. The 
difficulty will then commence for them to reach me. My lines 
are very strong, and cover well all our bridges across Chatta- 
hoochee. I will use my cavalry hereafter to cover the railroad, 



Reaching For The Macon Road 479 

and use infantry and artillery against Atlanta. A large part of 
Hood's army is militia, that cannot be trusted in the open field, 
and I think we have crippled the three fighting corps now com- 
manded by Stewart, Stephen D. Lee, and Hardee. It is even 
whispered that Hardee has resigned; but this is as yet but the 
story of deserters." 

While Schofield was trying to push on south, the Federals 
made a strong demonstration all along their front, only to find 
that the Confederates had not perceptibly weakened their lines. 
All day on the 3d Logan fought briskly with artillery and picket- 
lines. He carried a line and took fifty prisoners. Later the 
Confederates retook the pits, but the Federals holding them man- 
aged to get back with slight loss. Again Logan assaulted with 
a redoubled skirmish line, a second time capturing the enemy's 
pits, this time taking 150 prisoners. To Thomas, Sherman wired: 
"I think that to-morrow we can force the rebels to attack our 
right or be in a tight place. . . . Schofield will so threaten 
the railroad that I think the enemy will so far weaken the de- 
fenses of Atlanta that a bold dash might make a lodgment about 
Wood's front ; at all events, make the attempt with a strong line 
of skirmishers." Wood commanded a division of the Fourth 
(Stanley's) corps, stationed at the point where the battle of At- 
lanta was fought. On the evening of the 3d Stanley reported to 
Sherman: "At 4.30 p. m. I advanced the reinforced skirmish 
lines of Grose's, Wood's, and Newton's divisions. I carried the 
rebel picket lines on the whole corps front excepting in front of 
Gibson's brigade, of Wood's division. Gibson met a destructive 
fire of musketry and canister. Newton's men went within 100 
yards of the star fort. The rebels opened upon us at least 
twenty pieces of artillery. After Hazen had taken the enemy's 
skirmish rifle-pits, about three-quarters of a mile from our works 
and about 100 yards from the enemy's works, the rebels sallied 
out and drove his skirmishers back. We have taken about 40 
prisoners. Three of Cheatham's brigades are in our front. The 
prisoners report that Cleburne's division is on the rebel right. We 
could see troops move in and occupy the works during the fight. 
We lost about 30 killed and wounded. My belief is that the 
rebel force is quite strong in my front yet. The rebels' right, as 



480 Atlanta And Its Builders 

pointed out by the deserter you sent to me, rests on the Augusta 
railroad, with their right thrown back." 

On the 4th, while the Federals were on the point of making 
a heavy movement on their right for the purpose of gaining the 
Sandtown road, General Palmer became piqued because he was 
thrown in a position where it became necessary for him to co- 
operate with Schofield, under the latter's orders. He declined 
to act under Schofield's orders, on the ground that he was the 
latter's senior. Palmer, who commanded the Fourteenth corps, 
had been temporarily detached from Thomas's army, it will be 
remembered, to extend and support Howard's right, immediately 
after the battle of Ezra Church, before Schofield's army was 
transferred from the left to the right. In the crossing of Utoy 
Creek and the fighting that was expected to follow the forward 
movement, Thomas's command was expected to move with the 
Army of the Ohio. The case fell under the Article of War: 
"When two or more commands happen together, the officer high- 
est in rank commands the whole." The point was on the rela- 
tive rank of Palmer and Schofield. Both were major-generals, 
appointed to that rank on the same day by congress, but Scho- 
field's commission was not confirmed by the senate, while 
Palmer's was. Schofield's appointment remained hung up until 
it had expired by constitutional limitation. The president re- 
appointed him, and his confirmation did not take place until 
after the opening of the Atlanta campaign, quite a while after 
Palmer had received his commission. Sherman decided that 
Schofield ranked Palmer, and the latter flatly declined to receive 
orders from Schofield. To the latter he said : "I did not claim 
to command your troops from motives of delicacy. I will not 
obey either General Sherman's order or yours, as they violate my 
self-respect." While Palmer was holding out thus, his troops 
remained inactive, much to Sherman's indignation. Sherman 
wrote to Palmer on the night of the 4th : 

"The movements for to-morrow are so important that the 
orders of the superior on that flank should be minutely followed. 
General Schofield's orders for movement to-morrow must be re- 
garded as military orders and not in the nature of co-operation. 
I did hope that there was no necessity of making this decision, 



Reaching For The Macon Road 481 

but it is better for all parties interested that no question of rank 
should occur during active battle. The Sandtown road and the 
railroad, if possible, must be gained to-morrow if it costs half 
your command. I regard the loss of time this afternoon as equal 
to the loss of 2,000 men." 

Palmer asked that he be relieved of the command of the 
Fourteenth Army Corps. Sherman placated him, or thought he 
had, and the co-operation of the two generals in the important 
forward movement was expected to proceed satisfactorily on the 
5th. The orders under which this movement was to have been 
made on the 4th were as follows : 

I. Major-General Schofield with his own command and 
General Palmer's corps will move directly on the railroad which 
leads south out of Atlanta, at any point between White Hall and 
East Point, and will not stop until he has absolute control of that 
railroad, but must not extend more to the right than is absolutely 
necessary to that end. 

II. Major- Generals Thomas and Howard will press close 
on the enemy at all points, and reinforce well the points of the 
line where the enemy is most likely to sally, viz., on the Decatur, 
Buck Head, and Turner's Ferry roads, but more especially watch 
the outlet along the railroad, viz., General Williams's front. 

III. On the right we must assume the offensive and every 
man be prepared to fight, leaving knapsacks, etc., in the present 
trenches. Wagons will not be taken east of Utoy Creek until 
General Schofield has secured position on the railroad or so near 
it that it can be reached by musket balls and canister. If neces- 
sary to secure this end ordinary parapets must be charged and 
carried, and every hour's delay enables the enemy to strengthen. 
Therefore let it be done to-day. 

The 5th passed and the movement was not made. Scho- 
field complained that the trouble was in the Fourteenth corps, 
whose commander was sulking. Sherman was angry and asked 
Thomas to name Palmer's successor. To the commander of the 
Army of the Cumberland he wrote on the evening of the 5th : 
"Colonel Warner, one of my inspectors-general, who was on the 
right all day, reports nothing done or would be done. Will 
General Johnson be any better than General Palmer? I would 

31-1 



482 Atlanta And Its Builders 

prefer to move a rock than to move that corps. On the defens- 
ive it would be splendid, but for offensive it is of no use. It 
must have a head that will give it life and impulse. I was 
ashamed yesterday and kept away on purpose to-day to see if or- 
ders would not move it (but if an enemy can be seen by a spy- 
glass the whole corps is halted and intrenched for a siege). Un- 
less it will attack I must relieve it in orders and state the reason. 
I will call for official reports and act to-night." 

Thomas named Brigadier-General Jeff. C. Davis as his best 
material for Palmer's successor, but Brigadier-General Johnson 
was his senior. To obviate this difficulty, Sherman wired Wash- 
ington to have General Davis promoted to the rank of major- 
general. Some tart correspondence passed between Sherman 
and Palmer, the latter protesting indignantly that he was not re- 
sponsible for his corps' unsatisfactory action, and declaring that 
he had exerted himself more on both the 4th and 5th than any 
officer on that flank. Palmer continued in his warm rejoinder 
to Sherman : "I am to blame, however, in this, that I have not 
done as you obviously intend doing in my case — hold some one 
responsible for the failures. I think I could select the proper 
objects of responsibility more accurately than you have done in 
selecting me. I am so well convinced that this campaign has 
been lengthened out by the negligence and inattention of offi- 
cers, and will be hereafter lengthened and drawn out from the 
same cause, that I accept your intimation to me not as offensive 
(though I think unjust ), but as a sign of a purpose on your part, 
in future, to inquire into the causes of our almost daily failures 
to meet your avowed expectations, and when the cause is discov- 
ered to apply the correction. If you will do this justly, without 
favor or affection, I will venture my life that you will be aston- 
ished at the result." 

Palmer's resignation was accepted, and temporarily General 
Johnson commanded his corps, which was withdrawn from activ- 
ities and given a position in support of Schofield. The army 
telegrapher sent this account of the day's failure to his chief in 
Washington : "Operations to-day complete failure, or worse. 
Schofield and Palmer were ordered to carry a point which would 
command railroad south of Atlanta, while the other corps made 



Reaching For The Macon Road 483 

active diversions in favor of the movement. The attacking 
force moved early, and the whole line was engaged, but when 
Schofield and Palmer found the enemy they stopped and in- 
trenched. There they stay yet, while they make no progress, 
and the rebels have time to mass men and throw up earth-works, 
or to evacuate as they choose. They are very actively doing one 
or the other now; which it is. daylight will tell. Had we done 
anything to-day I should think they w r ere on the wing." 

On the morning of the 6th Schofield, being relieved of 
Palmer, set to work to accomplish what was expected of him. 
He moved out of his works early and attempted, by a wide cir- 
cuit to the right, to pass around the Confederate left flank. He 
found no flank. Hood was as strongly intrenched there as he 
was before the position Schofield had left, awaiting an assault. 
Schofield assaulted. Reilly's brigade threw itself with great 
spirit against the Confederate position, which was protected by 
the inevitable head-logs and abatis. The Federals did not even 
reach the Confederate parapet. They were met by a withering 
fire from the resolute men of Bate's division and compelled to 
seek cover as best they could in the woods through which the 
Confederate shells shrieked and thundered. A second time they 
were formed and pushed up close to the blazing Confederate 
lines, only to repeat their failure. Reilly's loss was very heavy, 
and upon being ordered to withdraw, he did so in a badly shat- 
tered condition. Believing that he could yet find the enemy's 
flank and turn it, Schofield detached Haskell's division and had 
it make a wide detour across the main Utoy Creek, more than 
a mile further on, where the Confederate left was found resting 
on the creek. Haskell had sharp fighting with the enemy's cav- 
alry, which fell back slowly before him. Haskell made no at- 
tack, night being at hand, but held his advanced position and in- 
trenched. A more adequate idea of Schofield's operations can 
be formed by reading the following extract from his report : 
"During the 4th and 5th no movement of consequence was made. 
In the night of the 5th General Johnson's division was sent to re- 
lieve General Hascall's in the trenches, and the latter was brought 
to the extreme right. I was satisfied that the enemy's line which 
had held our right in check for two days was only an outer line 



484 Atlanta And Its Builders 

and not held in strong force, and that from the character of the 
ground and the necessities of the enemy's position the salient of 
his main line was opposite General Morgan's center. This posi- 
tion was, however, a strong one, being a rough and broken ridge 
along the east bank of a small branch of the Utoy Creek. I de- 
termined to make the attempt to carry this outer line by assault 
near its point of junction with the main line, in the hope of cut- 
ting off the force to our right of the point of attack, and thus be- 
ing able to gain the enemy's main line before his troops could 
retire into it. General Reilly's brigade, supported by the whole of 
Cox's division, was ordered to make the assault. The order was 
gallantly executed. Some of the men actually reached the 
enemy's parapet in spite of all obstructions, but the abatis and en- 
tanglements were such as to render success impossible, and the 
gallant brigade was compelled to retire with heavy loss. Being- 
compelled to abandon this plan and content myself with a smaller 
measure of success, Hascall's division was detached from the 
right and ordered to find and turn the enemy's left. He crossed 
the main Utoy Creek about a mile and a half to our right, drove 
back a large force of the enemy's cavalry, and swept around op- 
posite the point where the enemy's left rested on Utoy Creek, 
but darkness and a heavy rain-storm rendered further operations 
impossible. The next morning developed the fact that the enemy 
had abandoned his position in the night and drawn back his left 
into his main works. We now pushed forward our whole line 
from Morgan's center, intrenched our lines confronting those of 
the enemy, and extended them as much as possible, preparatory 
to an effort to turn the Hank of the enemy's main line near East 
Point. The line of the Fourteenth Corps was extended to Utoy 
Creek, about two and a half miles from East Point, and the 
Twenty-third Corps crossed the creek and reconnoitered toward 
the railroad, between East Point and Red Oak. It was ascer- 
tained that the enemy's line, strongly fortified and protected by 
abatis, extended beyond the railroad and far beyond the reach of 
a single corps, unless it were detached to an unsafe distance from 
the main army. The Twenty-third Corps was intrenched upon 
the south bank of the Utoy, forming a strong right flank for the 
army, and a safe pivot upon which the grand movement then con- 
templated could be made." 



Reaching For The Macon Road 485 

The army operator sent this dispatch to Washington on the 
night of the 6th: "Palmer was relieved this morning of the 
command of the Fourteenth Corps, which has been handled to- 
day by Brigadier-General Johnson, under direction of General 
Schofield. Some ground has been gained on right, but not 
enough to enable us to command railroad yet. An attack by 
Schofield's corps on enemy's earthworks was repulsed with loss 
of 1,000 men in all. Farther extension to railroad found rebel 
flank ; too late for further operations, but there is promise of suc- 
cess at daylight. Something done ; prospects brighten a little. 
Our line of battle thirteen miles long. Generals report opera- 
tions and receive orders by telegraph." 

While Schofield was making his advance, the artillery of 
Howard and Thomas was playing upon the long line of Confed- 
erate intrenchments from beyond the Augusta railroad to Ezra 
Church, and at regular intervals the great siege guns threw shells 
far above the hostile lines into the city of Atlanta. While this 
demonstration was being made, a battle came near being pre- 
cipitated on the extreme Federal left while Stanley was feeling 
forward with his skirmishers. Maney's brigade of Cheatham's 
division made a sally, forcing back the Union line and inflicting 
some loss on the enemy before it relinquished the ground. Sher- 
man said to Thomas on the night of the 6th : "Though our line 
is extended, we cannot do better than to control and strengthen 
by defenses our present front, and let General Schofield work so 
as to threaten East Point. I do not believe the enemy can de- 
fend so long a line, and he may be forced to choose between the 
two, Atlanta and East Point. Unless he has repaired the Augusta 
road, of which there are no signs, or unless he can drive back 
General Johnson's flank, which controls that road, he will be 
compelled to give up Atlanta to secure East Point." 

Sherman sent the following explanation to Washington of the 
operations above described : "The line assaulted yesterday was 
an incomplete one. By feeling its left. Bate's division evacuated 
and fell back to the real line, which is nearer the railroad. I or- 
dered the skirmishers to be pushed in and the strength demon- 
strated, and developed heavy musketry fire and artillery. We 
have gained valuable ground and full possession of the real Sand- 



4&6 Atlanta And Its Builders 

town road. Our lines are close up and by morning will be in- 
trenched, so we will keep on working by that flank, but I want 
the whole line advanced whenever it be possible, and that Gen- 
eral Thomas bring from Chattanooga two 30-pounder Parrotts 
on siege carriages and batter the town. The closer we press our 
lines we contract and strengthen. General Schofield's right does 
not yet really threaten the railroad, though a full mile nearer 
East Point than last night." 

Secretary of War Stanton telegraphed Sherman these words 
of encouragement : "Do not imagine that we are impatient of 
your progress; instead of considering it slow, we regard it rapid, 
brilliant, and successful beyond our expectations. Take your 
time, and do your work in your own way. This Department is 
only anxious to afford you every assistance within its power." 

Grant, who was in Washington at the time, joined with 
Stanton in commending Sherman's work, saying: "Your pro- 
gress, instead of appearing slow, has received the universal com- 
mendation of all loyal citizens, as well as of the president, war 
department, and all persons whose commendation you care for." 

On the night of the 7th Sherman sent the following dis- 
patch to Washington, showing Schofield's continued activity on 
the right : 

"Have received to-day the dispatches of the Secretary of 
War and Lieutenant-General Grant, which are very satisfactory. 
We keep hammering away here all the time, and there is no 
peace inside or outside of Atlanta. To-day General Schofield got 
round the flank of the line assaulted yesterday by General Reilly's 
brigade, turned it, and gained the ground where the assault was, 
with all our dead and wounded. We continued to press on that 
flank, and brought on a noisy but not a bloody battle. We drove 
the enemy behind his main breastworks, which cover the railroad 
from Atlanta to East Point. We captured a good many of the 
skirmishers, which are of their best roops, for the militia hug the 
breastworks close. I do not deem it prudent to extend more to 
the right, but will push forward daily by parallels, and make the 
inside of Atlanta too hot to be endured. I have sent to Chatta- 
nooga for two 30-pounder Parrotts, with which we can pick out 
almost any house in the city." 



Reaching For The Macon Road 487 

To Grant's dispatch of commendation Sherman sent a reply 
so characteristic of the man that a part of it is quoted, as fol- 
lows : "I am glad you have given General Sheridan the com- 
mand of the forces to defend Washington. He will worry Early 
to death. Let us give those southern fellows all the fighting they 
want, and when they are tired we can tell them we are just 
warming to the work. Any signs of let up on our part is sure to 
be falsely construed, and for this reason I always remind them 
that the siege of Troy lasted six years, and Atlanta is a more val- 
uable town than Troy. We must manifest the character of 
dogged courage and perseverance of our race. Don't stay in 
Washington longer than is necessary to give impulse to events, 
and get out of it. It is the center of intrigue. I would like to 
have General Mower made a major-general. He is a real fighter." 

On the 7th the bridge across the Chattahoochee at Roswell 
was destroyed and the Federal guard withdrawn from that town. 
Sherman began the reorganization of his cavalry at Marietta, and 
being displeased with Garrard, McCook and the other leaders of 
his cavalry, proposed to place his main reliance on Kilpatrick, 
who was known as a dashing officer. Hascall, at the outpost on 
Utoy Creek, reported that he had Hobson's brigade on Bald Hill, 
a commanding eminence that had been the bone of contention on 
Bate's left, and that Bate had fallen back to the main Confed- 
erate line, near the railroad, to intercept a flank movement on 
East Point. Howard advanced his lines slightly on the 7th, his 
skirmishers taking a number of prisoners. The Confederate 
cavalry under Jackson hovered continually on Schofield's right 
and rear, preventing any great degree of activity on his part. 
Sherman determined to attempt a diversion to draw off his cav- 
alry. He proposed to have Schofield develop well the enemy's 
flank on the 9th, and to enable him to do so, ordered a general 
cannonading on that day, and Garrard to send a brigade of cav- 
alry out to and beyond Decatur, while Kilpatrick moved down to 
Sandtown and feigned as though intending to cross the Chatta- 
hoochee. To Thomas, Sherman said : "We are now as much 
extended as possible and must test the strength of our flanks and 
line." On the 8th Hascall discovered that he did not have a clear 
field in front of him, by any means. That evening Schofield in- 
formed Sherman : 



488 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"Hascall only succeeded in getting one brigade across the 
creek and intrenched. The enemy is pretty strong in front of 
that brigade, and has used artillery freely. Hascall is making 
good roads and bridges across the creek. It seems clear that we 
are as near to the railroad as we can get on this side of the creek 
without breaking the rebel lines. To cross the creek takes us 
around below East Point. Whether one division is sufficient 
force to make that move with, seems extremely doubtful. Pos- 
sibly the demonstration may be sufficient to make Hood let go of 
Atlanta. I am satisfied Cox's right is not more than a mile from 
East Point." 

Later that night Schofield was given a scare by a marching 
column of Confederates, supported by a strong bod}' of cavalry, 
trying to get around his flank, evidently with the intention of de- 
stroying his trains. Prompt steps were taken to head off the 
flankers, Howard ordering Lightburn's division's reserves into 
the old line of works on the Green's Ferry road. The enemy 
turned back at the creek. The night of the 8th the army operator 
wired Washington : 

"No fighting since last communication. Armies both 
stretching toward right, striving to turn a flank, and so far rebels 
have the best of it. Attempted to-day to get in our rear by cross- 
ing Utoy Creek, but were stopped by destroying the bridge. Line 
of battle now sixteen miles long." 

There was, however, a movement made by General Corse, 
commanding a division of Dodge's corps, Howard's army, on the 
8th, that deserves passing notice. Sherman was anxious to gain 
possession of a high hill, looking up the valley of Proctor's Creek 
and overlooking Atlanta. From this position he thought he could 
shell the city with fine effect. The coveted position was held by 
the Confederate line, in considerable strength, and against it 
Corse moved all day long with his skirmishers, meeting deter- 
mined resistance. His losses were heavy, in his own words, the 
movement "produced a list of casualties expected only from an 
extensive engagement." He effected a lodgment, foot by foot, 
close up to the enemy's parapet, and eventually occupied the 
abandoned Confederate line on the crest of the hill. 

Hood met Sherman's flanking tactics with skill and caution. 
He managed to so dispose his forces that his line was extended 



Reaching For The Macon Road 489 

to parallel the enemy's without seriously weakening it, which 
was no small task. On the 7th Cleburne was brought around to 
the left, and Hardee resumed command of that and Bate's divi- 
sion, which had been under Lee's and Cheatham's orders. The 
defenses of East Point were greatly strengthened, and there was 
no spot in the entire line to that place which invited an assault by 
reason of its obvious weakness. It began to look as if Sherman 
was not going to be able to ''outstretch" Hood. The elasticity 
of the Confederate army was something wonderful. The Con- 
federates had, as yet, no reason to feel discouraged on their left. 
The sharp rap Bate had given Schofield on the 6th made the en- 
tire army jubilant. Lee's men were further enthused by a gen- 
eral order celebrating the victory, which read : 

General Orders, Headquarters Lee's Corps, 

No. 62. In the Field, August 7, 1864. 

The lieutenant-general commanding takes pleasure in an- 
nouncing to the officers and men of this corps the splendid con- 
duct of a portion of Bate's division, particularly Tyler's brigade, 
in sustaining and repulsing on yesterday three assaults of the 
enemy, in which his loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners was 
from 800 to 1,000 men, 2 colors, and 300 or 400 stand small- 
arms, and all of his intrenching tools. Our loss was from 15 to 
20 killed and wounded. Soldiers who fight with the coolness and 
determination that these men did will always be victorious over 
any reasonable number. 

By command of Lieutenant-General Lee : 

J. W. Ratchford, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

Hood had dispatched Wheeler to Sherman's rear and 
awaited with anxious hope the news of a successful dash upon the 
Western and Atlantic railroad. If he could but effectually break 
that road, while Sherman's cavalry was in a depleted and rather 
demoralized condition, he thought the siege of Atlanta might 
temporarily, at least, be raised. Colonel M. H. Wright, who had 
so long been in charge of the ordnance department of Atlanta, 
was transferred to Macon. President Davis felt that Hood was 



49° Atlanta And Its Builders 

giving a good account of his stewardship, and sent him encour- 
aging messages occasionally. Relative to Wheeler's raid in Sher- 
man's rear, the president of the Confederacy said : "I concur in 
your plan, and hope your cavalry will be able to destroy the rail- 
road bridges and depots of the enemy on the line to Bridgeport, 
so as to compel the enemy to attack you in position or to retreat. 
The loss consequent upon attacking him in his intrenchments re- 
quires you to avoid that if practicable. The enemy have now 
reached a country where supplies can be gathered by foraging ex- 
peditions, and a part of your cavalry will be required to pre- 
vent that. If he can be forced to retreat for want of supplies, he 
will be in the worst condition to escape or resist your pursuing 
army. General Hardee's minute knowledge of the country, and 
his extensive acquaintance with the officers and men of the com- 
mand, must render his large professional knowledge and experi- 
ence peculiarly valuable in such a campaign as I hope is before 
you." 

General Hood wired President Davis as follows on the 
morning of the 9th : "The Nineteenth Army Corps having gone 
to Virginia or Washington City, the infantry force threatening 
Mobile cannot be more than 7,000 at the most, after leaving a 
garrison at New Orleans and in Louisiana. All that is necessary 
at Mobile is 7,000 men, as 6,000 will man the trenches. The re- 
serve and militia of Alabama are thought to be ample. None but 
small boats can get near to Mobile, and the heaviest batteries are 
near the city. This information in regard to Mobile I got from 
Lieutenant-General Lee. The force at Holly Springs is the same 
or less than Lee compelled to retreat. I suggest that the Trans- 
Mississippi troops come here. If they, or a part of them, are re- 
tained in Mississippi Forrest should go to Middle Tennessee, as 
the force at Holly Springs cannot march to Mobile with Forrest 
or a part of the Trans-Mississippi troops to oppose them. To 
march the Trans-Mississippi troops to Middle Tennessee may be 
too late, as they have to equip themselves with transportation. 
To hold Atlanta I have to hold East Point. The enemy are grad- 
ually extending to East Point, and hope to force me to give up 
Atlanta or to fight him at great disadvantage to us. I am making 
dispositions which will. I hope, enable me to hold both East Point 
and Atlanta." 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

SHELLING ATLANTA 

It is the purpose of the present writer to leave for a time the 
narration of events before the defenses of Atlanta and dwell 
somewhat upon life within the city during the siege, and the ex- 
periences of the citizens of the beleagured city while Sherman 
was approaching and after he had arrived. Before doing so, the 
date at which this narrative has arrived is embraced as the most 
fitting time to devote a chapter to the subject indicated by the 
foregoing head. There are many who do not believe that Sher- 
man bombarded Atlanta in the sense of training his guns on the 
buildings of the city with the intention of reducing the city to 
ruins, just as there are many who do not believe that Atlanta was 
willfully burned by Sherman's army. It is needless to say that 
these skeptics were not in Atlanta at the time, and that most of 
them reside above Mason and Dixon's line. A remarkably large 
number of shells fell in all parts of Atlanta, to have been unin- 
tentionally fired there. Buildings were struck right and left, 
women and children were killed, and for a month or more non- 
combatants who had clung to their homes or property experi- 
enced a veritable reign of terror from this cause. And yet, when 
Confederate officers, under a flag of truce, protested in the name 
of common humanity against bombarding a city whose defenses 
were far enough removed to make unnecessary the demolition of 
e city itself, they were coolly told that Sherman was not will- 
fully firing into Atlanta. Chance shots, the Federals admitted, 
night endanger life and property, but no bombardment of the 
city, they declared, was occurring or designed. That the shelling 
of Atlanta was deliberately planned and executed to the best of 
Sherman's ability, is shown by the field orders and correspond- 
ence of that general, embodied in the records of the war pub- 

491 




Lamp Post, corner Alabama and Whitehall sts. 
Showing fracture caused by Yankee shell during Sherman's raid 



Shelling Atlanta 493 

lished by the United States government. A number of these 
orders and letters chronologically arranged, will be reproduced 
here to show what Sherman's action in this regard really was. 

When Sherman perceived that his designs upon the Macon 
and Western railway in the neighborhood of East Point were 
likely to be thwarted by Hood, he turned in fury upon Atlanta 
and sought, in his own language, to "make it a desolation." Up 
to that time he had "put in his spare time" firing into the city, but 
after that he practically discontinued maneuvering his army for a 
fortnight and devoted all his energy and ammunition to bom- 
barding Atlanta. For that purpose he sent to Chattanooga for a 
battery of 30-pounder Parrott's, designed especially for long- 
range siege work. The shelling of Atlanta began in deadly earn- 
est on the 9th of August, 1864, while Schofield, on the extreme 
Federal right, was practically deadlocked. Of this particular day, 
and of the subsequent bombardment of Atlanta, Hood says : 

"The 9th was made memorable by the most furious can- 
nonade which the city sustained during the siege. Women and 
children fled into cellars, and were forced to seek shelter a greater 
length of time than at any period of the bombardment. . . . 
The bombardment of the city continued till the 25th of August. 
It was painful, yet strange, to mark how expert grew the old 
men, women and children in building their little underground 
forts, in which to fly for safety during the storm of shell and 
shot. Often mid the darkness of night were they constrained to 
seek refuge in these dungeons beneath the earth ; albeit, I cannot 
recall one word from their lips expressive of dissatisfaction or 
willingness to surrender." 

Below will be found a number of direct orders and references 
to the bombardment of Atlanta by Sherman : 

Sherman to Schofield, Thomas and Howard — August 1 : 

"You may fire from ten to fifteen shots from every gun you 
have in position into Atlanta that will reach any of its houses. 
Fire slowly and with deliberation between 4 p. m. and dark. I 
have inquired into our reserve supply and the occasion will war- 
rant the expenditure." 

Corse to Sherman — August 1 : 



494 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"The artillery fire from this division front resulted in devel- 
oping a 20-pounder battery immediately adjoining the siege piece 
that had opened so frequently on our lines during the past three 
days. Also assured the chief of artillery of the fact that with the 
3-inch ordnance he can shell the center of the city of Atlanta with 
tolerable accuracy."' 



Sherman to Thomas — August 7 : 

"Telegraph to Chattanooga and have two 30-pounder Par- 
rott's sent down on the cars, with 1,000 shells and ammunition. 
Put them into your best position, and knock down the buildings 
of the town. Slow progress here." 1 



Thomas to Sherman — August 8 : 

"The 4^2-inch guns have not yet arrived. They are not due 
until to-morrow. I have selected a very good point for them on 
Geary's left, where you can get a fair view of the town, and half a 
mile nearer than any other position. It was reported that they 
were to leave Chattanooga at 8 a. m. to-day. The position se- 
lected enfilades White Hall street, upon which is General Hood's 
headquarters, and the battery is being built to-night." 



Sherman to Howard — August 8 : 

"There is a wooded hill to General Corse's left and front, on 
which 1 was told General Williams's skirmishers were yesterday. 
It seemed to be on the south of Proctor's Creek. That hill would 
be a strong left flank to you. In front of General Corse's left cen- 
ter seemed an orchard near to a rebel work, and it may be within 
the re-entrant of their salients, but if we could get a battery near 
there it would make sad havoc in Atlanta." 



Sherman to Howard — August 8 : 

"I did not learn if General Corse got that hill on his left 
front. I would like to get a good battery as near it as possible 
that will reach the heart of Atlanta and reduce it to ruins, and to 
keep up a fire that will prevent wagon supply trains from coming 
into town. There is little use of your firing from the right of 
your line, as that end of town is of little depth or importance." 



Shelling Atlanta 495 

Sherman to Thomas — August 8 : 

"Orders for to-morrow, August 9: All the batteries that 
can reach the buildings of Atlanta will fire steadily on the town 
to-morrow, using during the day about fifty rounds per gun, shell 
and solid shot. General Schofield will, during the cannonading, 
completely develop the enemy's strength and position on his left 
Hank." 



Sherman to Halleck — August 9 : 

"Schofield developed the enemy's position to below East 
Point. His line is well fortified, embracing Atlanta and East 
Point, and his redoubts and lines seem well filled. Cavalry is on 
his flanks. Our forces, too, are spread for ten miles. So Hood 
intends to stand his ground. I threw into Atlanta about 3,000 
solid shot and shell to-day, and have got from Chattanooga four 
43/2-inch rifled guns, and will try their effect. Our right is below 
Utoy Creek. I will intrench it and the flanks and study the 
ground a little more before adopting a new plan." 



Sherman to Thomas — August 9 : 

"Send me word when the 4^2 -inch guns come, as I want to 
come over and watch the effect of a few of the first shots." 



Sherman to Thomas — August 9 : 

"Get your guns well into position, and the moment the am- 
munition comes, let them open slowly, and with great precision, 
making all parts of the town unsafe. Guns of that caliber with 
good shells have a better effect than any I ever used." 

Lieutenant Hopkins, Signal Officer — August 9 : 
"The most noticeable effect of the shelling was in front of 
General Geary's division at a fort and house. This fort was 
struck; also the works near it, and the house had quite a large 
hole knocked in it besides being riddled. Shells burst over the 
works here and in the woods to rear of them. The shells, which 
were few, I saw burst along to south, were in rear of enemy's 
works. Shells exploded over the city and in it, judging from the 
sound. A small piece was knocked off top of brick smoke-stack in 



496 Atlanta And Its Builders 

town. The rebels who have usually been lounging around their 
works went into the ditches, seldom showing themselves, and this 
evening could be seen coming out for their rations, but a shell 
bursting near soon dispersed them. Horses which have been 
daily grazing around large redoubt were led off." 



Sherman to Thomas — August 10: 

"I have your last dispatch. I hear the guns and the shells 
also. The enemy's battery of 32-pounclers rifled are firing on us 
here from the White Hall fort to draw off or divert our fire. 
Keep up a steady, persistent fire on Atlanta with the 4^2 -inch 
guns and 20-pounder Parrotts, and order them to pay no atten- 
tion to the side firing by which the enemy may attempt to divert 
their attention. I think those guns will make Atlanta of less 
value to them as a large machine-shop and depot of supplies. The 
inhabitants have, of course, got out. 



Sherman to Grant — August 10: 

"I cannot extend more without making my lines too weak. 
We are in close contact and skirmishing all the time. I have just 
got up four 4^ -inch rifled guns with ammunition, and propose 
to expend about 4,000 rifled shot in the heart of Atlanta. We 
have already commanded it with our lighter ordnance. Since 
July 28 General Hood has not attempted to meet us outside of his 
parapets. In order to possess and destroy effectually his com- 
munications I may have to leave a corps at the railroad bridge, 
well intrenched, and cut loose with the balance and make a deso- 
lating circle around Atlanta. I do not propose to assault the 
works, which are too strong", or to proceed by regular ap- 
proaches." 



Sherman to Schofield — August 10 : 

"I have your dispatch. I am deliberating what to do next, but 
despair of making a quick move. It takes two days to do what 
ought to be done in one. We are now bombarding the town of 
Atlanta, and I will await its effect, but rather prefer to cast loose 
from our base altogether to extending any more." 



Shelling Atlanta 497 

Sherman to Thomas — August 10: 

"I hear Brannan's guns at Geary's battery, and hear the 
shells burst in Atlanta. Send word to the battery to work all 
night and not limit themselves to 5 -minute guns, but to fire slow- 
ly and steadily each gun as it is ready; also order the gun on 
Williams's front to be got ready and put to work with similar 
orders to-night. Howard will get his 20s near the same point, 
which he pronounces much better than that at Geary's, which he 
visited with me to-day. Williams's right and Howard's left are 
on Proctor's Creek, from which you look up the valley to what 
seems the heart of Atlanta, the ridge on which are the railroad 
and White Hall being plainly visible, as also that by which the 
Marietta road enters the town, the intervening angle being cleared 
ground giving a fine field of fire. I think the 4^2 -inch gun on 
Williams's right can demolish the big engine-house." 



Sherman to Howard — August 1 o : 

"I want to expend 4,000 heavy rifle-shots on the town before 
doing anything new, and then will be prepared to act quick. Gen- 
eral Schofield has been reconnoitering the right all day." 

Van Duzer, Cipher Operator, to Washington — August 10: 

"Still extending our line to the right, and find enemy on our 
front everywhere. Have got four 4^2 -inch Rodman guns into 
position to-day, which burst their shells in Atlanta, and will keep 
that citv awake. No other news." 



Sherman to Stanton — August 1 1 : 

"Glorious news of Mobile just received. I have the same 
news, embracing the capture of Mobile City, through deserters. 
Now, if General Canby can follow it up by the capture of the 
Alabama river, my position would be much improved. All well 
here. I am knocking Atlanta with 4*^ -inch rifle-shells." 



Sherman to Thomas — August 18 : 

"The shots that go so deep into the city are from 10-pounder 
Parrotts in General Ransom's front, which is the second division 
to the right of General Williams: he is well in the re-entrant be- 



32-1 



498 Atlanta And Its Builders 

tween Atlanta and White Hall, looking up Proctor's Creek. The 
4^2 -inch gun of General Corse has an equally good position." 



Sherman to Thomas — August 1 8 : 

"General Barry says our big guns were ordered to stop fir- 
ing as soon as the ammunition then on hand was exhausted. You 
understand of course that I have suspended the movement con- 
templated for to-night until General Kilpatrick tries his hand. 
Keep the big guns going, and damage Atlanta all that is possible." 



Chief of Artillery Brannan — August 18: 

"The movement of the army which involves the sending to 
the rear the 4^ -inch siege guns having been temporarily sus- 
pended (of which fact Major-General Thomas has been ad- 
vised), Major-General Sherman directs me to say that the fire of 
the three 4 ^2-inch guns on Geary's front will be resumed and will 
be continued at the same rate as heretofore as long as possible. 
Captain Baylor informs me that there are upward of 1,500 rounds 
of ammunition for these guns at Chattahoochee railroad bridge 
depot." 



Captain Hopkins, Signal Officer — August 24 : 
"I have the honor to report that at least three houses, two 
frame and one brick, were destroyed by the fire in Atlanta this 
afternoon. Our shells burst in the city to right and left of brick 
stack." 



So much for the official Union testimony. The reader will 
have noted that in one of the foregoing orders Sherman remarks : 
"The inhabitants have, of course, got out." Sherman was well 
aware that the inhabitants had not got out. His spies were in 
Atlanta every day, bringing him minute reports of conditions in- 
side the city. As soon as the Federals began to throw shells into 
the city, immediately after the battle of Atlanta, General Hood 
addressed a letter to General Sherman, calling his attention to the 
fact that there were thousands of women, children and old men 
in the city, who had not been able to or would not refugee, and 
whose lives were in deadly peril from a bombardment that the 
situation of Atlanta's defenses did not justify. Hood said that 



Shelling Atlanta 499 

the line of parapet was a mile from the town, practically, on all 
sides, and that the destroying of it ought not to involve the de- 
struction of private property to any great extent, or the taking 
of innocent lives. He protested that the deliberate bombardment 
of Atlanta was unwarranted by the usages of civilized warfare 
and barbarous in the extreme. Sherman's reply was characteris- 
tic in its frank brutality. He reminded Hood, as a professional 
soldier, that he well knew that war was the very science of bar- 
barism, and that its object did not end with the killing, and maim- 
ing, and capturing of an armed emeny. It had also, Sherman de- 
clared, to desolate and devastate the enemy's country, rendering- 
it unfit for human habitation by destroying the means of sus- 
tenance and shelter. He explained that Atlanta, the general prin- 
ciples of war aside, could not be classed as a peaceable community 
peopled by non-combatants, but was one of the enemy's chief mil- 
itary depots and manufactories of the equipments of war, and 
outlawed by all the ethics of war. He said women, children and 
old men had no business in such a place, and that if they were 
there, Hood was responsible for their presence and must accept 
the responsibility for their safety. Sherman charged his antag- 
onist with cowardice in seeking the shelter of a city full of de- 
fenseless non-combatants for the protection that their helplessness 
afforded, and then appealing to his enemy for mercy for them. 
He took the position that Hood knew he was conducting an un- 
justifiable and hopeless struggle, and was well aware that Atlanta 
could not be successfully defended against the Federal army. 
Nevertheless, Sherman declared that he loved the South as an 
integral part of the union of states, and seemed to regard himself 
as an instrument in the hand of the Almighty to chastise a for- 
ward and erring people and turn them from following after false 
and demagogic leaders. 

The first shell fell in the streets of Atlanta on the morning 
of July 20th, the day of the battle of Peachtree Creek, and re- 
sulted in one of the saddest fatalities of which war is capable — 
the death of a little child. This particular shell, the harbinger of 
the murderous rain that was to fall upon Atlanta, fell at the junc- 
tion of East Ellis and Ivy streets. The child killed was walking 
with its parents at the time. In the afternoon of the same day. 



Shelling Atlanta 501 

while the battle of Peachtree Creek was raging, two other shells 
fell in the same vicinity. Sherman was shelling Atlanta in a 
desultory and wanton sort of a way from that time until the bom- 
bardment was begun as an important part of the red business of 
war on the 9th of August. During this period of comparatively 
light shelling, the citizens went about their daily affairs with little 
precaution against the danger, but that there was danger is at- 
tested by the following record of damage clone by shells in the 
heart of Atlanta up to the second week in August, kept by I. B. 
Pilgrim, who seems to have been about the only Atlantan who 
kept a diary : 

"A shell entered the house of Mr. Goldsburg, at the corner 
of Hunter and Loyd streets, exploding amidst the family, 
wounding Dr. Gates's wife and child. Another shell entered Mr. 
Hackett's house on Pryor street, and one entered the carpenter 
shop of Sherwood and Demerest. Mr. Kelly's house was struck, 
but not materially damaged. Thomas Kile's building on Peach- 
tree street was struck by a shell, which exploded in one of the 
rooms, and the house adjoining Mr. Kile was struck by a shell 
w r hich passed through the roof and came out at the gable end. 
Every building on Cherokee block was struck, and each one con- 
siderably damaged. Five shells passed through Wesley chapel 
from the rear end of the building, and three from the front. One 
shell passed through ten seats. Four shells struck the parsonage, 
doing to it considerable damage. Judge Ezzard's house had a 
visit from one of the shells, and was pretty badly battered. The 
state commissary building on Peachtree street was struck by one 
shell. A shell burst at the window of Joseph Winship's resi- 
dence, breaking the glass and otherwise damaging the building. 
The house of J. F. Trout, and also that of Mr. Sieglewitch were 
each struck by a shell, but neither was much damaged. A shell 
entered Dr. C. Powell's house and passed through the roof of Mr. 
Hairlow's house, and another passed through an unoccupied 
house at the corner of Ivy and Peachtree streets, tearing it up 
considerably. About one-third of the houses on Peachtree street 
were struck and more or less injured. Three shells struck the 
female college building, one tearing away one-half of the belfry. 
Two shells struck Mr. Trout's private house on the street leading 



502 Atlanta And Its Builders 

from the 'Trout House.' L. B. Davis's house was struck by two 
shells, one in the garret and the other in the cellar. John H. 
Seals's house was struck by five or six shells. Charles Bohn- 
field's coffin shop was struck, and also Major Shackelfield's house 
on Spring street. Mr. McLendon's house was struck, and also 
the bridge on Broad street. Several houses on Ivy street were 
struck, near Colonel Wallace's and John Glenn's residences. 
Mrs. Dr. D. B. Smith's house on Peachtree street was badly dam- 
aged. A shell burst inside of St. Luke's chapel. Tallulah engine 
house was penetrated by a shell, as was also Mrs. Dr. Coe's stable. 
A shell exploded inside of Dr. Willis Westmoreland's house, and 
another exploded in a room in the house of Dr. Goodman. A 
solid shot struck the house of Rev. J. S. Wilson, and two shots 
struck John Weaver's house on Walton street, one of them pass- 
ing through the parlor, tearing up the furniture and piano. A 
shell passed through a room of the brick house of Mr. Smith, on 
Walton street, went down into the cellar and exploded. A solid 
shot tore out one side of Mrs. Frank Grubb's house on Walton 
street. Every house on Marietta street to the gas works was 
struck, and damaged in various degrees. A shell passed through 
Peter Huges's house, wounding Mrs. Flake, Mrs. Coons, and a 
child of Mrs. Callahan. Mrs. Rhodes's house, in the rear of the 
State Road House, was struck by a shell. About twenty shots 
struck the Western and Atlantic round-house, and three or four 
struck the State depot. Concert Hall was struck by three shots, 
and John H. Flynn's house was struck three or four times. Dr. 
Harrison Westmoreland's house was struck, as were Mrs. Cool- 
ey's and Mrs. Anderson's boarding houses. The African church 
on Collins street, and Mr. Henderson's house at the corner of 
Church and Collins streets, were also visited. John McGhee's 
house was entered by a shell, which burst in a room where Mrs. 
McGhee was engaged in cutting up meat, but she was not injured. 
John Butler's house on Collins street was entered by a shell, as 
were also Dr. Downs's house, Mrs. Schnatt's, Marcus A. Bell's, 
Mr. Willis's, and Mrs. William Barnes's. The Trout House was 
hit by one shell, as also was John Neal's house, which stood near 
the corner of Mitchell and Calhoun streets. One shell entered 
the house of the Misses Durham, but did no damage. The store 



Shelling Atlanta 503 

of Mr. Kantrawitch, on Whitehall street, was entered by two 
shells, which exploded and tore everything to pieces. 'Old Man 
Houghton's' eating saloon was entered. A solid shot passed 
through the dining room of J. M. P. Calvo's house, when the 
table was set for supper. Dr. Geutebruck's house, near the min- 
eral spring, was entered. The Appeal building, the only building 
in the city occupied by a newspaper at the time, was hit. The 
Intelligencer office was entered through an open window by a 
shell which did not explode. Rawson's store on the corner of 
Whitehall and Hunter streets was hit, as were Wood's jewelry 
store, and Mrs. Valentino's store. A shell entered the city market 
house and burst inside where some thirty persons were engaged 
in marketing, but, happily, none of them were injured. The 
First Presbyterian church was struck. Mr. Warner's house was 
struck and he and his only child killed. A lady refugee from 
Rome was killed the same evening, on Peachtree street, while 
ironing. John Peel's house on Spring street was struck by five 
shells. A militiaman picked up a twenty-four-pound shell, and 
was picking away at it with a rock, when it exploded, killing him 
instantly. August 4th was the fifteenth day of the shelling of the 
city, yet, on that day, as before and afterward, women and chil- 
dren would walk about the streets as though there were no army 
within a hundred miles, and nearly, if not quite, two-thirds of 
the houses in the city were still occupied by the inhabitants, many 
of them the oldest people in the place." 

It is strange that so many civilians remained in Atlanta after 
it was understood that Sherman was bombarding the place and 
doing his best to reduce it to ruins by this means. At first the 
dropping shells filled the people with terror, and they spent much 
of their time in underground refuges not unlike the ''cyclone cel- 
lars" of the western prairie. Nearly every tenanted residence had 
one of these "bomb-proofs" in the yard close beside it, its location 
being marked by a mound of earth and an entrance hole, which 
could be closed after the refugees were inside. Some of these 
bomb-proofs were entered through the cellar of the house. When 
the familiar music (?) of a shell was heard in the air, a frantic 
scramble was made for shelter. Some nights the bombardment 
proceeded as industriously as in the daytime, and many citizens 



504 Atlanta And Its Builders 

removed their beds to their underground refuges and slept there 
in security, if not comfort. Some ludicrous sights were to be wit- 
nesssed when a break was made for cover, and as people became 
accustomed to the ever-present danger, the humor of such inci- 
dents was not lost on them. Sometimes dignified and courageous 
men who affected indifference to the iron hail in the daytime and 
scorned to join their families underground at night, would tum- 
ble precipitately into the family bomb-proof, minus their wearing 
apparel, when a shell struck uncomfortably close to them. A 
common peril made all men in Atlanta brothers. Strangers who 
happened to be in the neighborhood when a shell swooped down, 
were as welcome as a next-door neighbor when they applied at 
the door of a cave for shelter. The apparent fearlessness of even 
many women and children was remarkable. In many cases the 
danger was foolishly underestimated. True, a shell did not al- 
ways explode when it struck. The majority of the shells were 
exploded by percussion caps and were as apt as not to strike on 
the wrong end and do no harm. The fuse-shells would some- 
times go out. The latter presented a beautiful sight as they went 
blazing through the heavens at night, sometimes exploding in 
midair. There were certain parts of the city more dangerous to 
live in than others. As a general thing the Federal gunners 
singled out a factory chimney, a church steeple, the cupola of a 
public building, the roof of the depot, or some conspicuous object 
for a target, and the people living or walking in the vicinity of 
such buildings had the greatest need of bomb-proofs. Some- 
times the fire in the vicinity of Atlanta's most prominent and im- 
portant structures was so hot that nobody ventured near. The 
vicinity of the railroad was a dangerous place. The enemy was 
particularly desirous of damaging the trains that daily brought 
supplies into the city, and became expert in reaching the line of 
railroad and the warehouses along it. 

On the 9th of August, the day that Sherman gave his un- 
divided attention to making it hot for the citizens of Atlanta, it 
was a foolhardy person who did not keep in a bomb-proof. The 
skies rained iron that day. The whizzing, screaming noise of the 
projectiles descending upon the town, accompanied by the distant 
roar of the big guns, was calculated to strike terror to the stoutest 



Shelling Atlanta 505 

hearts and cause redoubled vigilance and caution. As Wallace 
P. Reed expressed it, ''all the fires of hell and all the thunders 
of the universe seemed to be blazing and roaring over Atlanta." 
It was a one-sided duel. The Confederates well understood that 
Sherman was endeavoring to mask his attempt at a flank move- 
ment over on Utoy Creek by a deal of noise. They had no am- 
munition to waste in pyrotechnics and mere sound, and their bat- 
teries returned the challenge only at intervals. They held them- 
selves in readiness for an assault along every foot of Atlanta's de- 
fenses, particularly in Schofield's front. A pall of sulphurous 
smoke hung low over the city, obscuring to the eyes of the citizens 
who ventured to look out the glare of a midsummer sun. The 
impact and detonation of the shells was heard in every quarter of 
the city from daylight to dark, mingled with falling plaster and 
crushing timber. Great gaps were made in brick walls and whole 
sides of roofs were torn away- The streets were filled with 
debris. Some buildings were total wrecks at the close of that ter- 
rible day. To add to the universal terror, fires broke out fre- 
quently, and the gallant firemen and citizens who rushed to the 
scene to extinguish the incipient blaze were in as much danger 
as though they were soldiers in the heat of battle. A number of 
buildings were destroyed by fire after they had been riddled with 
shot and shell. Blackened ruins appeared in nearly every square. 
Despite the caution of the inhabitnats, there were a number of 
fatalities. Superintendent Warner, of the gas company, and his 
six-year-old daughter, were killed while lying on a bed together 
in their home at the corner of Elliott and Rhodes streets. Their 
bodies were frightfuly mangled by a huge bombshell. A lady 
who was trying to reach the depot to escape from the city on an 
out-going train was shot through the back and fatally wounded. 
A woman who was ironing clothes in a basement, in fancied se- 
curity, was killed by a shell that came crashing through the floor 
above her head. Sol Luckie, a well-known local barber, was 
standing at the James bank corner, Whitehall and Alabama 
streets, when a shell exploded against a lamp post hard by, a 
fragment of the engine of destruction striking the unfortunate 
man on the leg. He was carried to the Atlanta Medical College, 
where it was found necessary to make an amputation. Luckie 



506 Atlanta And Its Builders 

survived the operation but a few hours. At a house on Forsyth 
street a soldier was standing in the front yard, bidding adieu to a 
lady in the doorway. The lady's little boy had accompanied the 
soldier to the gate. A shell dashed upon the sidewalk, at the very 
feet of the man and child, killing both before the mother's eyes. 
There were other minor disasters. The following day Sherman 
got his big Parrott siege guns that had arrived from Chattanooga 
in position, and for the next two weeks the danger to life and 
property in Atlanta was greatly increased. It would be impossible 
to enumerate the casualties of that fearful fortnight. Scores of 
people were killed and maimed, and the buildings of the city were 
very much in the condition that Sherman wanted to see them. 

After the Confederates were restricted to one line of railroad 
for their supplies, it was extremely hard to leave the city by rail 
and exceedingly dangerous to leave otherwise. This probably 
accounts for so many women and children remaining in the city 
during the period of the fiercest bombardment. At any moment 
the railroad to Macon was likely to be raided by the enemy's cav- 
alry or gained by his assaulting columns. The facilities of trans- 
portation were inadequate for strictly military needs, and Hood 
complained to the president of the road that his wounded were 
often seventy hours on the way to Macon. Under these circum- 
stances it is not likely that refugees would receive much consid- 
eration from the military authorities. The citizens were told to 
hang to their bomb-proofs until the fate of Atlanta was deter- 
mined. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

INSIDE ATLANTA DURING THE CAMPAIGN 

The faith of Atlantans in General Johnston's ability to lure 
Sherman far from his base and destroy him before he encom- 
passed the Gate City did not waver perceptibly until that ominous 
day in mid-July when news came that the Confederate army had 
fallen back across the Chattahoochee and was choosing its ground 
for another stand at the very portals of the Gate City. True, 
there was here and there a Doubting Thomas from the time of 
the first retreat from Dalton, and now and then apologetic ex- 
pressions of apprehension were to be read in the local papers, but 
these were the exception. The vast majority of the citizens be- 
lieved Johnston's army to be invincible and its successive retro- 
gade movements entirely strategic. Tiding of no Confederate re- 
verses met their ears and eyes. Resaca was in Johnston's favor ; 
New Hope Church a Yankee charnel ; Kennesaw Mountain all 
but a Yankee rout. The abundant signs around them that 
Atlanta was to be defended were regarded as precautionary. Few 
foresaw that the city was to become a vast battlefield where 
civilian lives and property were at the mercy of contending hosts. 

Patriotism was at fever heat. Volunteer relief committees 
were organized to go to the front to care for the wounded. 
Thousands of dollars were contributed to buy medicines and 
comforts for the field hospitals. The ladies worked night and 
day sewing for the soldiers. Nearly every night some enthusias- 
tic local orator or some passing political celebrity appealed to the 
martial passions of the populace on street hustings or hall plat- 
forms. Tumultuous mass meetings assembled at every call. 
Home guards were organized in each ward, and Confederate 
gray was the prevailing color to be seen on the streets. The local 
press, numerously represented at the outbreak of the war, was 

507 



508 Atlanta And Its Builders 

filled with bitter invective against the North and the armed 
enemy, and the most extravagant words of praise and confidence 
were lavished upon the Confederacy and its brave defenders. 

On the 23d of May the mayor of Atlanta issued the follow- 
ing proclamation : 

Atlanta, Ga., May 23, 1864. 

In view of the dangers which threaten us, and in pursuance 
of a call made by General Wright and General Wayne, I require 
all the male citizens of Atlanta capable of bearing arms, without 
regard to occupation, who are not in the Confederate or State 
service, to report by 12 m., on Thursday, the 26th instant, to 
O. H. Jones, marshal of the city, to be organized into companies 
and armed, and to report to General Wright when organized. 
And all male citizens who are not willing to defend their homes 
and families are requested to leave the city at their earliest con- 
venience, as their presence only embarrasses the authorities and 
tends to the demoralization of others. 

James M. Calhoun, Mayor. 

The reference to the non-combatant variety of citizens was 
probably directed more to the Unionists in Atlanta than to the 
cowardly and worthless element. There were quite a number of 
people in Atlanta, for the most part former residents of the North 
or of Northern antecedents, who remained quietly in the city, 
making themselves, it is needless to say, as unconspicuous as 
possible. Some of these were among Atlanta's most substantial 
citizens. Atlanta, having been so enterprising and of such rapid 
growth, was the most cosmopolitan city, in an interstate sense, in 
the South, perhaps, and naturally had attracted as permanent 
residents many people not exactly homogeneous, politically. Not 
a few Germans were Union sympathizers, and there were South- 
erners to the manor born who regarded secession as a political 
crime, foredoomed to failure in its purpose, and who still enter- 
tained a sentimental feeling toward the flag that stood for the 
Union. Known Unionists had a hard row to hoe. They were 
ostracized and boycotted, as a matter of course, and at the break- 
ing out of the war quite a number of them lost no time in making 
for the North. After Atlanta had been evacuated by Hood, some 



Inside Atlanta During The Campaign 509 

of the most intolerant Confederate citizens were the first to push 
the few Union citizens forward to make fair weather with Sher- 
man in the city's behalf. Such is human nature. 

After the military authorities took charge of Atlanta, public 
regulations were exceedingly rigid. Every male above the age 
of sixteen had to show a pass when he walked the streets or at- 
tempted to leave town. The conscript officers were busy, and 
men who were not too old or physically disqualified to bear arms, 
had to exercise their wits to keep out of the army. Some of them 
were ingenious in this regard. Here the Union sympathizer 
found himself in trouble. When Governor Brown called out the 
old men and boys, almost no one was exempt, and no pretext 
availed. 

When it was certain that Atlanta was to be besieged, and 
perhaps her very streets turned into a battle ground, hundreds of 
the wealthy class hurried their families away while yet the rail- 
roads were open. Patriotism induced some families to remain in 
Atlanta, but poverty more. Business was in a sadly demoralized 
condition and most of the stocks of merchandise were removed to 
place of safety. Parties who owned slaves regarded the prox- 
imity of the Union army as especially menacing to that class of 
property, and negroes were sent away in cases where their ser- 
vices were not contracted to the Confederate government, or they 
had not been taken by impressment. This applied more partic- 
ularly to house and body servants. Black laborers were in too 
great demand on the intrenchments to be spared. 

When the boom of Sherman's guns echoed across the Chat- 
tahoochee, practically all of the emigrants had left Atlanta and 
the remaining citizens prepared to make the best of a bad situa- 
tion. One by one the newspapers dropped out as the siege pro- 
gressed, but so long as they could get paper to print their editions 
on they voiced the self-sacrificing and defiant spirit of the com- 
munity. Now and then one of them mildly criticised the policy 
of the Richmond authorities as pertained to Atlanta. On the 7th 
of July, the day that Roswell was captured and Schofield forced a 
passage of the Chattahoochee river, the Intelligencer, the leading 
daily, said : 

"The enemy still continues to press forward to reach his 
coveted prize. General Johnston is ready to give him battle, 



510 Atlanta And Its Builders 

should forward be his word, and Atlanta, directly, be his object. 
The responsibility that has rested on General Johnston in resist- 
ing the advance of the enemy upon Atlanta, from Dalton to 
Chattahoochee, had been skillfully and ingeniously met. His 
strategy commanded the admiration of his officers, his courage 
that of his men, his successful retiring before the enemy, the order 
preserved, the cheerfulness and the high state of discipline, that 
of the country. It cannot be forgotten that come weal or come 
woe to the Confederacy, from its retention or from its loss of 
Atlanta, that the Army of Tennessee had retired before an army 
largely superior in numbers, so large, indeed, that with the force 
at General Johnston's command, open as the enemy's rear has 
been for hundreds of miles to him, he could make no demonstra- 
tion upon it. The flanking operations of Sherman forbade such 
attempts, and to General Johnston was attributed no responsi- 
bility for the failure to assail Sherman's rear. That rests else- 
where, and where does it rest ? The answer was most emphat- 
ically upon President Davis. Had a competent force been ordered 
to obstruct Sherman's rear, had General Forrest, with ten thou- 
sand men, been ordered to co-operate with General Johnston by 
making such a demonstration, or had General Johnston been 
reinforced so as to have been able to assail Sherman's rear him- 
self, Atlanta would not have been in such peril, nor the danger 
then threatening her have been so imminent. 

"Why has the geographical center of the Confederacy, the 
loss of which is fearful to contemplate, been left so exposed, when 
the vigorous efforts of a few thousand cavalry or mounted infan- 
try, directed on the long line of Sherman's rear, would have 
resulted in his retreat, if not in his defeat or rout? Has there 
ever been, in civilized warfare, seen what is now presented to the 
eye of man, and has been for some time past — a line of railroad 
communication kept free by the enemy, extending from Louis- 
ville, Ky., to within twelve miles of Atlanta, without an effort 
being made to break it, and this, too, when the safety, the occu- 
pancy of the great center of the Confederacy, its very backbone, 
would have been assured by it ? A line of more than five hundred 
miles, over which the enemy has been left to transport his supplies 
unmolested, without an effort being made to cut them off! It is 




Thomas S. Powell, M. D. 



During the Civil War this distinguished phy- 
sician devoted himself to the care of the 
wounded soldiers in the Confederate hos- 
pitals located in Atlanta 



512 Atlanta And Its Builders 

indeed marvelous that this has been done, and the responsibility 
must rest upon President Davis. Should Atlanta fall, fearful 
indeed will be the responsibility. There is more than one Rich- 
mond in the field to-day. The Richmond in Virginia is the 
political Richmond ; but the Richmond of Georgia is Atlanta, 
which to the Confederacy is a more important point than the 
capital of the Old Dominion. Failing to maintain this point, the 
maintenance of Richmond will become doubtful ; maintaining it, 
Richmond will be safe." 

The vast majority of the people of Georgia and the soldiers 
in Johnston's army subscribed earnestly to such views. The 
feeling was little short of insubordination, and Jefferson Davis 
was openly and roundly denounced. Johnston was upheld and 
praised by nine men out of ten, even though he brought a carnival 
of blood and fire upon Atlanta. It was considered that his 
Fabian tactics had been forced upon him, and he made the most 
of the means at hand to hamper and cripple Sherman. 

For all its criticism of Richmond, the Intelligencer was no 
pessimist. It had faith in the invincibility of the Confederate 
arms under Joe Johnston, and in the same issue in which the 
foregoing appeared, declared : "Brave and unconquerable men 
present a defiant front between the center of the Confederacy, 
Atlanta, and the enemy. We have the utmost confidence that if 
battle is made before the city, we will scatter the enemy like leaves 
before an autumnal frost. If battle is not made, what then?" 

Just prior to Sherman's advent. Atlanta was the newspaper 
center of the Confederate States. The leading dailies of cities 
that had fallen into the hands of the enemy, compelling their 
unceremonious departure, found refuge for many months in 
Atlanta. Chief among these refugee newspapers was the Mem- 
phis Appeal, noted for its enterprising war correspondence. The 
last heard of the Appeal before its renaissance after the unpleasant- 
ness, its editor was captured by a troop of Federal cavalry in the 
mountains of North Alabama, fleeing upon a mule, with all that 
was left of the newspaper plant stuffed in his saddlebags. The 
Chattanooga Rebel was another fiery journalistic refugee, edited 
by Henry Watterson, then little known, but none the less a force- 
ful writer. His pugnacious independence as a writer came near 



Inside Atlanta During The Campaign 513 

getting' him into serious trouble with the soldiers, on account of 
criticisms he had made on the conduct of the campaign, and led 
to his retirement from view and the paper. Later Watterson was 
a member of the Southern Confederacy's editorial staff. The 
Knoxville Register was another prominent Southern daily that 
sought a safe place of publication in Atlanta. There were five 
home dailies in Atlanta — the Intelligencer, the Southern Confed- 
eracy, the Gate City Guardian, the Commonwealth and the 
Reveille. With the exception of the first named, which was a 
pioneer of Atlanta journalism, the local papers were distinctively 
the product of the troublous times, as their names would indicate. 
The Intelligencer was the Constitution of its day. It was owned 
by Judge fared I. Whittaker, one of Atlanta's most aggressive 
publicists, and its editor was Major John H. Steele. The Intel- 
ligencer hung to Atlanta until the Macon railroad was likely to 
be cut any day. and then established itself in the Central City. 
The Southern Confederacy, though a new journal, was a for- 
midable rival of the Intelligencer. It was owned by a joint stock 
company of well-known Atlantans, including George W. Adair 
and J. Henley Smith, and its active business management and 
excellence as a newspaper resulted in a large circulation. Be- 
sides Watterson, it had as editorial writers Asa R. Watson, Mr. 
Cardozo and E. W. Marsh. The Confederacy found refuge in 
Columbus when Sherman wound his mailed tentacles about At- 
lanta. The Commonwealth was a lively evening sheet, edited by 
J. S. Peterson. It exhibited a world of enterprise during the 
siege, and like the famous Vicksburg Citizen, frequently had to 
serve the news to its readers on the reverse side of wall paper. 
The Reveille and Gate City Guardian did not long survive the 
investement of Atlanta. The makeshifts resorted to by the local 
press to "get out" were an indication of the city's dire extremity. 
Sometimes printers could not be had and editors and proprietors 
picked laboriously over the cases to set a fraction of a column of 
type announcing some important piece of news. Sometimes even 
the Intelligencer, whose resources were the best, came out on a 
narrow proof slip, containing barely a column of matter. Not- 
withstanding these difficulties, the newspapers were in very active 
demand and numbered among their purchasers thousands of Con- 

33-i 



514 Atlanta And Its Builders 

federate soldiers and militiamen. On special occasions there was 
a scramble in front of the newspaper offices for the first papers off 
the press. Any kind of a paper sold for fifty cents. News of 
the movements of the army, and detailed accounts of the damage 
done in the city by Sherman's shells, were prohibited by the mili- 
tary authorities, and, as a matter of fact, the reader was but little 
better informed as to what was going on inside and before the 
defenses of Atlanta than as though he had not read the paper. 
This rigorous censorship was necessary, as Sherman's spies 
brought him copies of the city papers daily and he often referred 
to their contents in his reports. Whenever there was a battle or 
a movement of troops in force in any quarter before the city, the 
local paper invariably announced a glorious Confederate victory 
or a decided advantage to the Confederate arms. After the battle 
of the 22d July the papers of Atlanta announced that Sherman 
was so hard hit that he would do well to save his line of retreat 
and escape into Tennessee. The operations of Lee's army in 
Virginia were closely followed, always to the effect that Grant 
was being annihilated, Washington on the point of evacuation, 
and large reinforcements about to start for Hood's relief. Most 
of the "telegraphic news" was clipped from Southern exchanges, 
the Richmond papers being most heavily drawn on. Wallace 
Reed tells a good story in connection with siege journalism in 
Atlanta : 

"Of course, the editors and printers were exempt from con- 
scription. This was a great thing, and the newspaper offices 
always had all the men they needed, and some that were mere 
hangers-on. Once there was a prospect of serious trouble. The 
printers struck for higher wages. Several editors put their heads 
together and decided upon the cutest plan imaginable. They 
visited the conscript officer in a body, stated the case, and request- 
ed him to conscript the printers, as they were out of a job, and, 
therefore, no longer entitled to exemption. The conscript officer 
had a long head and knew his duty. 'Gentlemen,' he said, 'you 
are undoubtedly right. I will go to work at once, and as you are 
here I will conscript you to begin with.' 'Conscript us!' ex- 
claimed the editors. 'Certainly. As you have no printers, you 
can't get out your papers. So you no longer belong to the ex- 



Inside Atlanta During The Campaign 515 

empted class.' This was an unexpected result. The editors 
asked time for consultation with their printers. All differences 
were harmoniously arranged, and in less than fifteen minutes the 
editors were turning out copy for their employees, who had again 
taken their stand at the cases." 

Reliable information of events transpiring outside the breast- 
works was impossible. The soldiers were non-communicative or 
told tales that on their face were highly colored in favor of the 
citizens' sympathies. The individual who assumed to enjoy "in- 
side tips" was largely in evidence. He kept an open-mouthed 
group of listeners in constant terror of their lives with his relation 
of what Sherman proposed to do that day to the city. An hun- 
dred 50-pounder cannon with a range of ten miles had just ar- 
rived from Chattanooga and were being put in position to blow 
Atlanta off the earth. One of their shells would destroy a whole 
brick block and tear up the ground to such an extent that bomb- 
proofs could afford no safe retreat. Hood was about to surren- 
der to Sherman, or blow up his factories and stores and march out 
while yet an avenue of escape remained, leaving the people to 
their horrible fate. And like stories. 

Toward the last there was little left for money to buy in the 
way of merchandise and provisions, and prices were so high, 
measured by the depreciated currency of the Confederacy, that to 
mention the figures at which common necessities sold would sound 
fabulous. A great many of the citizens had no money, plentiful 
as it was, and looked to the lean commissary department of the 
Confederate government to keep them from starving. Bacon 
was a luxury and corn meal furnished the staple article of diet. 
It is superfluous to say that gardening inside the city limits was 
attended with a great deal of danger. The sacrifices made by the 
people, under the stress of war, and the hardships and positive 
dangers endured, were greater in no community in the South than 
in Atlanta. To go into details would be a threadbare story. The 
women were especially heroic. Hundreds of them ministered to 
the wounded, and some of the most palatial homes in the city were 
turned into hospitals, the mother and daughters of the family 
devoting their entire time to such labors of patriotism and mercy. 
The residence of Judge John Collier, on Nelson street, was one 




u 



Inside Atlanta [hiring The Campaign 517 

of the best known of these private hospitals. During" the battles 
around Atlanta many of the Federal wounded fell into the hands 
of the Confederates and were taken to the Atlanta Medical Col- 
lege, which had been converted into a hospital, where they were 
given the same treatment as was received by the wounded South- 
erners. The college building, under a hospital Hag, was several 
times hit by Sherman's shells. 

All the time Atlanta was being bombarded, the immense 
Confederate factories, foundries and machine shops in the city 
were running full blast, employing hundreds of operatives, me- 
chanics and laborers. It was easy, with such complete machine 
shops and iron works as Atlanta possessed, for Hood to speedily 
repair such slight breaks of the railroads within the Confederate 
lines as Sherman could make with cavalry. In addition to these 
valuable industrial establishments, Atlanta was a cotton center, 
and cotton was gold. As Johnston's base during his long moun- 
tain campaign, Atlanta was well supplied with army stores and 
provisions. For these reasons, as well as its importance geo- 
graphically and as a railroad center, the Confederacy had every 
incentive to make a last-ditch fight to hold Atlanta, and did hold 
it to the last extremity. 

When it is considered that Atlanta was a small city during 
the war, occupying but a fraction of the ground it now covers, 
and that its line of defenses was a mile or more from the carshed, 
it will be understood, from the nature of the ground, that the 
non-combatant residents had slight opportunity of learning what 
was going on at the embattled front. To stand at an upper win- 
dow of one of the modern city skyscrapers and look over the old 
battlefields of Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Ezra Church, and the 
long line of operations from the latter point to Jonesboro, one can 
but be struck by the immensity of the field included in the siege 
from first to last, and will the better realize how the little Atlanta 
of nearly forty years ago could feel but not see the dangers with- 
out her gates. It might at least nerve one for the blow to see his 
executioner and the fatal instrument. Atlanta saw nothing, and 
but indistinctly heard the sullen boom of Sherman's distant guns. 
The fiery bolts that smote her to the very heart fell like the wrath 
of the gods mysteriously from the heavens. People hid in under- 



5iS Atlanta And Its Builders 

ground bomb-proofs and ran from the death-zone of exploding 
shells, who never saw a puff of smoke from a Yankee battery or 
caught sight of a blue blouse until after Sherman's men entered 
the town. This dense personal ignorance of the situation, as has 
meant to be shown, increased its terrors and made people doubly 
credulous. 

Peachtree street was far out in the suburbs then, and some- 
times, when it was unusually quiet on the picket lines and the 
artillery in that direction seemed weary, citizens who were very 
brave and very influential, would go in company of an officer, very 
much as gentle folk go "slumming," to see how things looked 
behind the earthworks. The works were closest in on the end 
of Peachtree street, and where now is located the home of Mr. 
Clifford Anderson, then in the front of the suburban home of Mr. 
Columbus Pitts, was excavated a sharpshooters' pit locally known 
as the "dead-hole." Visitors looked with a grewsome sense of 
awe into this hole, in which seventeen men were killed during the 
progress of the siege. It looked safe enough, with its red clay 
walls, from behind, but the sharpshooters had to expose their 
faces a trifle in taking aim, and the sharpshooters of the enemy, 
armed with their unerring telescope rifles, frequently "got their 
man." A similar pit, an outpost of the Federal lines, was scarce- 
ly more than a thousand yards away. 

It will prove interesting, if the knowledge thus obtained is 
not wholly accurate, to read what the Federals believed to be the 
situation inside the Atlanta earthworks, as reported by their spies, 
Confederate deserters and talkative citizens. The following de- 
tailed statement of the position of the Confederate army and the 
situation in the city of Atlanta was made to the Federals by J. B. 
Jordan, a deserter, who represented himself as captain of Com- 
pany G, Thirty-sixth Alabama Infantry : 

"Near Atlanta, Ga., August 14, 1864. 
"Captain Jordan says he came into our lines of his own ac- 
cord yesterday evening. His regiment belongs to Floltz- 
claw's brigade, Clayton's division, of Lee's corps, num- 
bers about 250 men, and is the strongest regiment in 
the brigade. Says their division is about 2,500 strong, 



Inside Atlanta During The Campaign 519 

is in front of the Fourteenth Corps, the left resting 
on the Sandtown road and the right a little to the left, in 
front of General R. W. Johnson's headquarters. Brigadier-Gen- 
erals Stovall, Baker, Holtzclaw, and Gibson are the brigade com- 
manders and are in position from right to left in the order named. 
Holtzclaw and Baker have Alabama troops ; Gibson has Louisiana 
troops, and his is counted the best fighting brigade in the corps; 
Stovall has Georgia troops, and his men are very much demoral- 
ized, won't fight, and are constantly deserting. Clayton's division 
is on the left of the corps (Lee's). Hindman's division, now 
commanded by General Brown, of Tennessee, is in the center, and 
Stevenson's is on the right. Thinks their division, Clayton's, is 
fully as strong as either of the others. All the regiments of their 
corps are very much extended, in many places the line being one 
rank and the men three feet apart. Gibson's brigade, the left 
flank of their division, is one rank, with no reserves, and covers at 
least half a mile. Has not been to the left of their army and can 
give no particulars about position of troops there, except that 
Hardee's corps (except Cheatham's division) is on the left of 
Lee's, and holds the left flank of the army ; thinks the extreme left 
is near the river. Stewart's corps is on Lee's right; says Stew- 
art's divisions are much stronger than theirs; when he first came 
to them at Resaca some of his regiments numbered 1,500 men; 
thinks the right of Stewart's corps is about half a mile from the 
Augusta railroad. The militia are on Stewart's right and are 
about 5,000 or 6,000 strong. Cheatham's division, of Hardee's 
corps, holds the right flank of the army and pickets the front of 
the militia; thinks Cheatham's division is about 3,000 strong. 
Does not know of any reserves in rear of the line at any point, and 
is pretty confident that there are none. No reinforcements have 
been received except militia and men from convalescent camps and 
hospitals; says a large number of men have been added to the 
army from these sources ; thinks the aggregate number since Hood 
has been in command, including cooks, teamsters, and other de- 
tailed men, will reach 15,000 men. His own company, Jordan's, 
numbered 14 men at Kennesaw, and yesterday mustered 34 guns; 
has received 12 men since the fight on the 22A. All that he can 
say about the cavalry is that it is on the flanks; says Wheeler's 



520 Atlanta And Its Builders 

command numbers 25,000 men; has not heard of any raid con- 
templated by him. The whole army is said to be 75,000 men. 
With regard to its morale Captain Jordan says it is greatly demor- 
alized, both officers and men feel that they are whipped. The 
officers will not acknowledge it, but the men feel that there is no 
longer any chance of success, and, although they will fight desper- 
ately if attacked in their works, they would refuse to make a gen- 
eral charge; says he is confident that if the men could be made to 
know how they would be treated after coming over the majority 
of Hood's soldiers would desert him, and that if the practice of the 
picket-lines agreeing to a truce for a few hours at a time was 
encouraged a great many men would desert them every day. 
Their men have great confidence in the honor of our soldiers, and 
a proposition to cease firing is at once accepted. It was during 
one of these armistices along the picket-lines that he questioned 
our pickets as to the kind of treatment he would receive in case he 
deserted, and was told that he would be sent North. Their men 
are taught to believe that the government would force them into 
the army as soon as they came over; says he has been looking for 
an opportunity to desert during the whole campaign and improved 
the first opportunity after being assured that he would be sent 
North and allowed to stay there. Since the 20th of July only 
about one-quarter rations have been issued. There are no sup- 
plies of any kind in Atlanta. They are shipped from below as 
they are needed by the troops, two or three days' supply being 
issued at a time. The ration consists of bacon and corn bread 
and occasionally beef; has often seen his men eat a day's supply at 
a meal and then not be satisfied. Officers draw rations with their 
men. The supply of ammunition is very small ; men are ordered 
not to fire when upon picket duty or when acting as sharpshooters 
unless sure of their mark, and whenever an assault is ordered or 
an attack expected an order is issued cautioning" the men to be sav- 
ing of the cartridges. Our artillery is often not replied to be- 
cause of the scarcity of ammunition. One-third of the men in 
the trenches are kept up all night, and at 3 o'clock the whole force 
is ordered under arms until daylight. 

"Captain Jordan describes the breastworks as being very 
strong, and protected by abatis constructed with great care and 







m 



522 Atlanta And Its Builders 

extending along the whole line ; thinks the weakest part of the line 
is that portion held by the militia. The works there are the same, 
and were constructed by old troops, but the militia will not stand ; 
does not know what damage was done to the railroad by Stone- 
man, but learned that all bridges south of Macon for a distance of 
thirty miles were burned, together with some engines and cars at 
or near Griswold Station ; states that one of his men who was sick 
at Montgomery came over the x\tlanta and West Point Railroad, 
and that about three miles at each end of the break was repaired. 
Parties were employed repairing the road at each end of the break. 
Has not heard anything in regard to the Augusta railroad, 
whether it is being repaired or not. States that supplies are 
scattered from Atlanta to Macon, no great quantity at any one 
point." 

The following statement was made to the Federal provost- 
marshal-general by J. M. Glass, one of Sherman's most reliable 
scouts, who was almost constantly in Atlanta in disguise : 

"Near Atlanta, Ga., August J, 1864. 
"Says he left Atlanta, Ga., yesterday morning about 10 
o'clock ; says the right of the enemy's line is held by militia sup- 
ported by one brigade of Hardee's corps ; with this exception all 
the old troops are on the center and on the left. Hardee's corps 
is on the left flank of the army. From the best information he 
could get thinks there are at least 15,000 militia. One brigade 
of militia came in from some point below on the 4th instant. 
Learned that 1,700 of General Stoneman's command were cap- 
tured ; heard a rumor to the effect that General Wheeler will be re- 
lieved of his command because he did not capture the whole of 
Generals Stoneman's and McCook's commands. Two brigades 
of Wheeler's corps were sent to Flat Shoals on the 5th instant. 
An orderly on duty at General Hood's headquarters told him, 
Glass, that General Lee was expected from Virginia, also that 
General Ewell was looked for at Atlanta with his corps, said to 
be 32,000 strong. Same orderly said that he believed from the 
manner in which things were going on about headquarters that 
preparations were being made for a sudden flank movement of 



Inside Atlanta During The Campaign 523 

some kind. The large guns have all been removed from the tort 
east of the cemetery. Do not think Hood is accumulating- sup- 
plies in Atlanta; think they only arrive as they are needed by the 
troops. Trains are running regularly on the Macon and Atlanta 
road. Two hundred prisoners were sent below on the 5th in- 
stant. Our wounded prisoners are kept in the southeast portion 
of the town. Says he came out of Atlanta past the cemetery, 
thence on the Decatur road south of the Augusta railroad to De- 
catur. Says there are no troops in Decatur or to the right. Says 
there are no rebel works nor troops between our works and the 
railroad. South of the railroad the enemy has two lines of works 
held by militia. The right of the enemy's line of infantry is 
within one mile of Decatur. The two brigades of cavalry sent 
to Flat Shoals are from Martin's division, which was camped in 
the rear of the infantry between Atlanta and Decatur; only one 
brigade there now. Glass thinks that from the hint he received 
from General Hood's inspector-general, viz., to come over last 
night, that they did not want him there to-day." 

W. H. Gates, a citizen, presumably of Union proclivities, 
made the following statement to the provost marshal-general : 

"Near Atlanta, Ga., August o, 1864. 
"Left Atlanta on the evening of the 8th inst. and came with 
his wife to Decatur. Saw no pickets on the way who halted him 
until w T ithin three miles of Decatur ; saw but few troops on the 
road, and those he saw were cavalry. Thinks there are no troops 
east of the cemetery except cavalry pickets. There is a camp of 
cavalry three miles south of Decatur. The State troops occupy 
the trenches on the north and northeast side of town, and their 
front is picketed by Cheatham's troops. The State troops num- 
ber about 20,000. The whole rebel force is estimated at 60,000. 
There is one heavy gun located north of the female college. All 
business in Atlanta is suspended ; the goods have been removed to 
other points in the State. There is but one grocery running in 
Atlanta and no stores or other business places. Hotels are closed. 
Most of the shells from Federal guns strike in the vicinity of the 
depot, the larger part of them south of the depot. Seven shells 



524 Atlanta And Its Builders 

have been sent through the Western and Atlantic Depot. In or- 
der for the gun tiring from Marietta street to strike the commis- 
sary depot it should be depressed a little and the aim taken about 
100 yards to the left of its usual range; the shells go about sixty 
feet over the commissary stores. No buildings have been burned 
by the shells. The subsistence on hand amounts to about six 
days. There have been several rumors of a new commander for 
the rebel army. One rep< >rt was that Lee was coming to Atlanta 
and Jeff. Davis was going to command the Eastern army. The 
last report was that Beauregard was going to relieve Hood. A 
report came into Atlanta on or about the 5th instant from Brig- 
adier-General Page, commanding Fort Morgan, in Mobile Bay, 
to General Higgins, that three gunboats and fourteen ships had 
passed Fort Morgan into the bay. The rebel gun-boat Tennes- 
see surrendered after a terrific fight, the Gaines was beached, the 
Selma was captured. The Tecumseh sunk under the guns of the 
water battery. Federal troops were landed on Dauphin Island; 
city in great excitement. General Maury called all citizens to 
arms." 

Glass, the spy, brought in the following report on August 
1 2th : 

"Reports that he left Atlanta about 9 o'clock this morning; 
was not allowed to visit the lines while there. Saw four large 
pieces of artillery moving down the Macon railroad toward East 
Point. Day before yesterday shells passed over General Hood's 
headquarters and struck 300 or 400 yards beyond; Hood's head- 
quarters are near where White Hall street intersects Faith's alley. 
These shells appeared to come from the Fifteenth Corps. This 
morning shells from the Twentieth and Fourth Corps struck at 
the corner of McDonough street and Faith's alley. The supply 
trains belonging to Hardee's corps are camped to the right of the 
cemetery between First street and the Augusta railroad, near El- 
more street; can be easily reached by batteries in Fourth Corps. 
Says no change has taken place in the position of the enemy's 
corps except that they are strengthening their left by artillery. 
The buildings in the fair-grounds are used as hospitals for their 
wounded. Says when he went into town yesterday he was not 



Inside Atlanta During The Campaign 525 

halted nor asked for a pass till he got into town; went into town 
from Paul Jones's, southeast from Decatur two miles, and returned 
same way. Says the works from the Augusta railroad are held 
by militia and dismounted cavalry in small force and without ar- 
tillery.'* 

On the 1 8th Glass made another report, as follows: 
"Went into Atlanta past our left flank on 13th instant; saw 
one brigade of Martin's division of cavalry between the cemetery 
and Decatur. Strahl's brigade, of Cheatham's division, holds the 
extreme right of the enemy's infantry line and is in position about 
one mile from the cemetery toward Decatur on the south side of 
the railroad. Says the militia commences on the left of Strahl's 
brigade. Lee's corps is on the left of the militia and Stewart on 
his left. Hardee is on the extreme left; Cleburne's division holds 
the left flank and is in position, the left resting opposite Mims's. 
five or six miles southwest of East Point. Says he rode along 
the lines from Atlanta to East Point on Monday; left East Point 
yesterday morning and went to Fairburn. Did not see or hear 
of any reserves along their lines ; says their lines are verv thin. 
The country between the enemy and Fairburn is open; nothing- 
there but a few cavalry pickets and scouts. Saw large squads of 
negroes along the railroad from East Point to Fairburn, felling 
timber and throwing up breast-works. General Toombs arrived 
there about one week ago with some militia ; was told at the Camp 
of Direction that Toombs was second in command of the militia, 
and that there were 30,000 of them, including the troops brought 
up some time ago by Generals Roddey and Lee. Was told also 
that these troops, the 30,000, were to be organized into two corps. 
Says this Camp of Direction is a sort of headquarters for guards 
and couriers. Says that Wheeler started from Covington with 
about 6,000 men, and that Lewis with about 800 Kentuckians 
crossed the Chattahoochee below Campbellton and passed our 
right flank. Thinks it was Lewis's brigade that cut the railroad 
at Acworth. Says the enemy was very anxious to learn from 
him what force was after Wheeler. Heard that Morgan was to 
form a junction with Wheeler some place near Cleveland in East 
Tennessee. Reports the Atlanta and West Point Railroad in 
running order. Trains passed through Fairburn yesterday 



526 Atlanta And Its Builders 

morning for Atlanta. Reports the depot buildings and car sheds 
destroyed by Kilpatrick. Says that a large block of buildings 
near the corner of Marietta and Woodley streets was fired by our 
shells on Saturday night and destroyed. The buildings contained 
cotton and a large drug store ; another building in same part of 
town was destroyed Sunday evening. Visited several camps ; the 
men appear to have plenty of rations and forage from day to day, 
but there is no supply on hand ; supplies are all brought from 
Macon. Says there are six strong forts at East Point all ready 
for artillery; none in them yet. On the evening of the 15th in- 
stant a train of fifteen cars loaded with infantry went down the 
Macon road ; did not learn to what point; and on the 16th another 
train full of troops, abont 1,000 men. went down same road. Says 
no train came up from Macon on 16th and that the cause of deten- 
tion was not known at headquarters. Thinks Wheeler has all 
their mounted force off with him, except the brigade on their right 
near Decatur, and about two small brigades picketing and scouting 
between East Point and Fairburn." 

Many of the reports of signal officers are interesting. From 
their elevated stations overlooking Atlanta they were able to dis- 
cern some of the movements of Hood's troops and note the effect 
of some of Sherman's shells. Here is a signal report to General 
Logan, dated August 24th : 

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following as my report 
of to-day. Lieutenant Fish, of this detachment, took position on 
lookout station at 8 a. m. and reports the following : 

"At 11.30 a. m. I discovered a column of smoke rising from 
Atlanta. I examined it closely, but could not determine from 
what it originated. The fire emitted black smoke for a space of 
five minutes, then white smoke, something like steam. Heated 
air could be seen to rise in thick white clouds. It was still burn- 
ing at dark. At Ti.40 a. m. a train of eighteen box-cars left 
town ; doors closed ; could not tell if loaded or not. At 4.30 p. m. 
a train of eighteen box-cars and one passenger-car arrived, all 
empty. At 4.50 p. m. a train of eight box-cars, loaded with 
boxes, bundles of clothing or bedding, and other articles, left 
town, also about thirty-five men on board. The six-gun fort in 
front of the Seventeenth Army Corps has part of the embrasures 



Inside Atlanta During The Campaign 527 

casemated. A battery in the Seventeenth Army Corps almost de- 
stroyed one of the casemates to-day ; their firing was very good. 

Lieutenant Wirick, of this detachment, reports from Captain 
De Gress's battery : 

"I notice the following changes on the rebel lines in front of 
Fifteenth Army Corps: During the last twenty-four hours con- 
siderable timber has been cut in front of their main lines. They 
have extended and completed some of their advance skirmish pits 
and pitched some additional tents or flies in rear of main works, 
apparently officers' quarters; otherwise their lines appear un- 
changed. 

At 12 m. I received information from General O. O. Howard 
that it was currently reported that the rebels were evacuating At- 
lanta. I therefore proceeded to the lookout station and examined 
entirely the enemy's lines, but could see nothing to justify the re- 
port. A large fire appeared in Atlanta that I could tell but very 
little about. The smoke appeared like that of burning grain. I 
then proceeded to Captain De Gress's battery ; while there I dis- 
covered considerable movements along the rebel line. They ap- 
peared to be fixing up their equipments ; most of them moved back 
to a camp or new line in rear of the one in sight. At 5 p. m. I re- 
turned to the lookout on tree and discovered a few men leaving the 
rifle-pits in front of Twentieth Corps with their equipments ; they 
appeared to be militia. At 6 p. m. I saw four old citizens, well 
dressed, come out on the big work in front of town. They ap- 
peared to be agitated and excited. It is evident from their motion 
and downcast appearance that there is some move about to take 
place. Two more large fires occurred, one in the evening and the 
other at about dark ; appeared to be large buildings of some kind. 
From my observations this afternoon I am satisfied that the enemy 
are about to make a grand move of some sort. The rebels fired 
their big gun three times, once before dark and twice after. Very 
few pieces of artillery in sight. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Samuel Edge, 
First Lieutenant and Chief Acting Signal Officer. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

OPERATIONS NEAR EAST POINT AND WHEELER'S RAID 

While Sherman's guns were battering down Atlanta and the 
two armies practically deadlocked because stretched to their ut- 
most numerical capacity, two important moves were attempted, one 
by Sherman and the other by Hood, the former being" unsuccess- 
ful and the latter measurably successful. Sherman proposed by 
a bold detachment of a division from Schofield's army corps to 
break the West Point road, which was again in running order into 
Alabama, at a point as near as possible to East Point. Hood pro- 
posed to send Wheeler, with about one-half of his cavalry, upon 
the long talked of raid upon the Western and Atlantic railway, 
north of the Etowah, to or beyond the Tennessee line. 

The following communication from Sherman to Schofield, 
under date of August nth, is quoted as explanatory of the for- 
mer's desires and purpose : "I do want to know where our right 
flank is, how far from one of the two roads south of Atlanta; and 
as we cannot reach the Macon road I would like to say at least we 
had found out where the West Point road is. When reached, it 
should be torn up for a couple of miles, and then the force em- 
ployed should return to the right flank of the army. I don't limit 
you to one division, but you can take the whole five, or only such 
part as you may deem sufficient to accomplish the end. We be- 
lieve the enemy has his three corps distributed — Hardee, right; 
Lee, left; and Stewart, center; old troops on picket and in rear; 
militia in trenches. The right is three miles east of Atlanta, cen- 
ter about railroad, and left about East Point. I believe a skirmish 
line can hold any part of our front, but in making a detachment 
due caution should be exercised. It appeared to me far more pru- 
dent to vacate or thin out your line; in other words, to extend the 
Fourteenth Corps and send out two divisions, say General Has- 

528 



Operations Near East Point < hut Wheeler's Raid 529 

call's and Baird's, with your cavalry as vedettes, and a good en- 
gineer officer to sketch the country. But as you already have a 
better knowledge of the country than I, I leave it to you. It does 
seem to me with an enemy besieged we should be a little more en- 
terprising." 

Schofield seemed to regard the proposed movement as very 
hazardous and was evidently loth to undertake it. However, he 
said that if Sherman thought the object to be gained worth the 
risk, he would start Hascall's division early the next morning. 
Sherman's reply showed him to be undecided in his further plans. 
He said : "If it involves extra hazard I don't want it done, be- 
cause I have not yet made up my mind whether to swing round At- 
lanta by the east or south, but I want to fight Hood the earliest 
possible moment he will come out of his trenches, and would risk 
a good deal to draw him out. There is no doubt of it, our move- 
ments are all too slow to be productive of good results. I feel 
mortified that he holds us in check by the aid of his militia." 

Schofield answered : "I take it for granted that any attack 
upon Hascall in his movement would not come from the enemy's 
line in my front but from his reserves, which might be nearly the 
whole of his veteran troops. I would not hesitate to fight all of 
those with my two corps, but I would want all my troops concen- 
trated and prepared in advance. I have not the slightest hesita- 
tion in making the effort to strike and break the railroad, though 
I may fail in the attempt, but I did think you expected me to do 
more than I could safely attempt in the event of my meeting un- 
expected resistance, and I am free to say I felt not a little cha- 
grined at your imputation of want of enterprise." 

Sherman had received information of Wheeler's departure 
for the North Georgia mountains and regarded the time as pecu- 
liarly opportune for another railroad raid on his own part. He 
expressed much impatience at the inactivity of his army, particu- 
larly of the cavalry. "We all know," he declared, "that the 
enemy holds us by inferior force, and I may have to let go our 
parapets altogether, for it seems we are more besieged than they. 
Send General Hascall to feel for that road in the morning, and 
have all your command, if necessary, ready to let go their para- 
pets and engage the enemy, and if that be not sufficient, I will 

34-i 



530 Atlanta And Its Builders 

order General Howard to do the same." He said, in another 
of the frequent dispatches exchanged with Schofield about the 
matter : "Colonel Garrard's cavalry passed along the flank to- 
day unopposed, and I do not think the West Point road more 
than two miles from General Hascall's present flank. You will, 
therefore, make the expedition with one division, the other either 
placed intermediate or ready to act. Of course without aban- 
doning our present base or dividing our forces into two equal 
parts I have no other corps to give you. You may consider it a 
reconnaissance in force not to go over three miles from General 
Cox's present right. I know a full proportion of the enemy is 
on our left and center, and if any change occurs in the night I will 
be sure to advise you. Our heavy ordnance, playing for the 
past thirty hours from the Buck Head road into Atlanta, has kept 
to the parapets a full proportion of the enemy all the way round 
to your old position and beyond, and if I am to give weight to the 
testimony from official sources the enemy at this moment exhibits 
most force on his present right. I have no idea that he can 
throw on you even a third of his reserve force, because he will 
look upon the movement as a decoy to weaken his line somewhat 
that we may break in. Besides, we know his line as well as ours 
is so stretched out that his reserves are not over 1,000 men per 
mile, for his infantry line three miles east of the Howard house 
round to the Macon road below East Point is full fifteen miles 
long, requiring at his parapets 40,000 men, leaving him no re- 
serve on that flank that can disturb two divisions. We must 
act. We cannot sit down and do nothing because it involves 
risk. Being on the offensive we must risk, and that is the flank 
on which we calculated to make the risk, indeed have been ma- 
neuvering to that end ever since the Army of the Tennessee 
shifted from left to right." 

Before Schofield started Hascall, Sherman, to make sure he 
was right in his conclusion that the enemy was still as strong on 
his right as left, ordered General Stanley, occupying the battle- 
field of July 22d, to make a sharp dash against the enemy's 
works on a hill to the left of the distillery, and report the result. 
Stanley doubled his skirmish line and did as ordered, with the re- 
sult that the enemv met him with redoubled skirmishers and a 




o 
>> 

U 



P-i 



O 



pq 



532 Atlanta And Its Builders 

display of the usual force and artillery behind his intrenchments. 
Satisfied that he was right in his conclusion in this regard, Sher- 
man ordered Schofield to go ahead. A brigade of Cox's divi- 
sion was taken out of the line held by the Fourteenth corps and 
placed in reserve near Hascall's right to protect his hazardous 
movement and look after his surplus artillery and wagons. The 
following were General Hascall's orders, dated the nth: "Early 
to-morrow General Hascall will move forward and endeavor to 
reach the West Point railroad, as near as practicable to East 
Point, thoroughly destroy the road for a distance of two or three 
miles, and return to the rear of his present line. General John- 
ston will thin out his line to-night and relieve General Cox's 
division at daylight in the morning. General Cox will occupy 
General Hascall's works as soon as vacated, and will support 
General Hascall in his operations, if necessary; especially in case 
of an attack or threatened attack upon his left. Colonel Garrard 
will operate upon General Hascall's right, and endeavor to clear 
the enemy's cavalry from his flank. He will scout and picket 
all roads leading from General Hascall's right to the Chattahoo- 
chee. The pickets should be very vigilant during the day, so as 
to detect at once any movement of troops about the enemy's lines. 
In case of the withdrawal of troops from any portion of the lines 
in his front General Johnson will endeavor to secure possession 
of them." 

The morning the reconnoitering and road-breaking expedi- 
tion started, Sherman ordered Thomas and Howard to "keep 
things lively, that no concentrating or massing may be made as 
against General Schofield." The inhabitants of Atlanta were 
given ample reason to believe that Sherman's injunction was 
faithfully carried out. The 12th was another "red day" in the 
history of the bombardment. During Thomas's fierce artillery 
practice, two of his 20-pounder Parrott guns bursted. 

A great surprise was in store for Hascall and Cox. They 
thought their intended movement could be made without serious 
opposition, and had been assured by their cavalry scouts that the 
vicinity where they intended reaching the West Point road was 
free of Confederates, save for a few wandering videttes and 
stray pickets. They started off in high hopes, but had proceeded 



Operations Near East Point And Wheeler's Raid 533 

but a short distance when they were confronted by the seemingly 
endless parapet of the enemy. Hood appeared to be infinite in 
his elastic resources, stretching along the road to West Point as 
well as the road to Macon. If the former railway was to be 
broken by infantry, it was evident it had to be done at a greater 
distance from the Federal right flank than it would be safe to 
venture ; so nothing came of the movement upon which Sherman 
had counted so much and had so elaborately prepared to execute. 

On the night of the 12th the army telegrapher wired to his 
chief in Washington : ''General Schofield felt forward again to- 
day for West Point railroad, south of East Point, but without 
success, finding enemy in earthworks on his front. It is evident 
that there are more rebels before us than we had supposed. Our 
artillery annoys them severely, causing their troops to remain in 
the trenches, as our shells reach over their camp near Atlanta. I 
have neglected to mention that the bridge over the Chattahoochee 
is done, and trains run to our position." 

On the 1 2th Sherman was informed of his appointment as 
major-general in the regular army. It is evident that the Fed- 
eral commander-in-chief before Atlanta was greatly discouraged 
on account of his failure to either turn the enemy's left flank or 
seriously damage his least important railroad without cutting 
loose from his base, and there is evidence that he was seriously 
meditating the latter alternative. In view of the short time 
which elapsed until Sherman was in possession of Atlanta, the 
following dispatch of his to Halleck, under date of August 13th, 
sounds like half a confession of failure and is the more remark- 
able : "We have now pressed the enemy's lines from east around 
to East Point on the south. The nature of ground, with its arti- 
ficial defenses, makes it too difficult to assault, and to reach the 
Macon road by a farther extension will be extra hazardous. I 
have ordered army commanders to prepare for the following 
plan : Leave one corps strongly intrenched at the Chattanooga 
bridge in charge of our surplus wagon trains and artillery ; with 
60,000 men, reduced to fighting trim, to make a circuit of de- 
vastation around the town, with a radius of fifteen or twenty 
miles. To do this I go on the faith that the militia in Atlanta 
are only good for the defense of its parapets and will not come 



534 Atlanta And Its Builders 

out. I want a good corps commander for the Fourteenth Corps, 
in place of General Palmer, and Jeff. Davis is the best officer in 
that corps. I prefer him much to General Brannan. I would 
like the utmost activity to be kept up in Mobile Bay, and, if pos- 
sible, about the mouth of Appalachicola. Also, to be assured 
that no material reinforcements have come here from Virginia. 
If I should ever be cut off from my base, look out for me about 
Saint Mark's, Fla., or Savannah, Ga." 

"In making the circuit of Atlanta, as proposed in my dis- 
patch of to-day, I necessarily run some risk. If there be any 
possibility of Admiral Farragut and the land forces of Granger 
taking Mobile (which rebel prisoners now report, but the report 
is not confirmed by rebel papers of the nth, which I have seen), 
and, further, of pushing up to Montgomery, my best plan would 
be to wait awhile as now, and at the proper time move down to 
West Point and operate into the heart of Georgia from there. 
Before cutting loose, as proposed, I would like to know the 
chances of our getting the use of the Alabama River this cam- 
paign. I could easily break up the railroad back to Chatta- 
nooga and shift my whole army down to West Point and Colum- 
bus, a country rich in corn, and make my fall campaign from 
there. I know Fort Morgan must succumb in time." 

On the 13th, in front of Howard's extreme right, a hot skir- 
mish fight took place in which General Woods captured a line of 
Confederate rifle-pits, bringing back 65 prisoners, four of whom 
were commissioned officers. At the same time the Fourteenth 
corps got 27 prisoners. The captured pits were reversed and 
strongly held. 

General Bate was wounded while Schofield was pressing his 
front, and his command turned over to Major-General Brown. 
Lieutenant-General Stewart, wounded at Ezra Church, returned 
to duty on the 13th. At this time desertions were frequent 
among the Confederates, and some of the regiments had to be 
kept under close surveillance. The men had not been paid for 
a long time, were half fed and ill-clad, and many of them were 
thoroughly dispirited. There were numerous instances where 
soldiers pretended to be captured on the skirmish line, while in 



Operations Near East Point And Wheeler's Raid 535 

reality going over to the enemy voluntarily, with the expectation 
of being sent North and turned loose. Every effort was made 
by the Confederate officers to enthuse their men and inspire them 
with fear to desert. In Lee's corps the following inspiring gen- 
eral orders were issued on the 12th: "The lieutenant-general 
commanding is gratified with the gallantry and determination 
displayed by the skirmishers of this corps in resisting the numer- 
ous attacks upon them. In one of the charges of the enemy 
some of Deas's and Brantly's skirmishers allowed themselves to 
be bayoneted in the pits rather than be driven back. The skir- 
mishers of Gibson's brigade on the 5th, and of Baker's on the 7th. 
permitted half of their number to be killed, wounded, and cap- 
tured before the others would leave their position. These few 
instances of heroism out of many are mentioned with the hope 
that they may be imitated rather than permit the enemy to ap- 
proach our main line." 

In the same corps the following circular was published the 
same day : "Hereafter, instead of arousing the men in the 
trenches at 3 a. m., it will not be done until 3.45, when only half 
of them will be awakened. The other half will be allowed to 
sleep unless movements of the enemy make it necessary to awaken 
them. The attention of commanding officers is called to the 
number of men killed and wounded in the trenches. Every ef- 
fort will be taken to prevent the loss of life by building traverses 
and using every means that may suggest themselves." 

As an illustration of the condition of affairs in Lee's corps, 
the following circular, dated August 13th, is reproduced: "It 
has been reported to these headquarters that, contrary to orders, 
intercourse between our pickets and those of the enemy is still 
kept up, and in some instances it has been agreed that they shall 
not fire at each other with intent to kill, but to shoot over each 
other's heads. A stop must be put to these proceedings, and 
any one found so offending will be sent to these headquarters. 
Artillery officers and men in the trenches are directed to fire upon 
any man, or group of men, who are discovered holding communi- 
cation with the enemy." 

These picket-line truces grew to be such an evil along the 
whole front, and resulted in so many desertions, that General 



536 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Hoocl issued general orders against the practice, on the 16th, 
threatening dire punishment against the soldiers found guilty, 
and holding responsible their officers. To his general officers 
Hood sent this admonition : "General Hood desires that you 
impress upon your officers and men the absolute necessity of hold- 
ing the lines they occupy, to the very last. He feels perfectly 
confident that, with the obstructions in their front, and the ar- 
tillery to break his masses, the enemy cannot carry our works, 
however many lines he may advance against them, and however 
determined may be his assaults, so long as the men occupy the 
trenches, and use their rifles. Let every man remember that he 
is individually responsible for his few feet of line, and that the 
destiny of Atlanta hangs upon the issue." 

Now Wheeler began to be heard from. The first sign 
Sherman had that the redoubtable cavalry leader was upon his 
line of communication North was the interruption of the tele- 
graph. Immediately afterward a message came from Marietta 
saying that the road had been broken near Acworth by a small 
band of raiders, but could soon be repaired. Thereafter tidings 
from Wheeler multiplied. Every post commander north of the 
Etowah added his voice to the chorus of alarm. From Calhoun 
came the report that Wheeler had captured over a thousand head 
of beef cattle belonging to Sherman's commissary. Sherman 
wired General J. E. Smith, at Cartersville, to look well to the se- 
curity of the Etowah bridge and Allatoona. • He was ordered 
to collect as strong a force as possible at Rome and the other mili- 
tary stations at Dalton, to intercept the captured cattle without 
delay and prevent their being driven to Atlanta. Confident that 
General Steedman, commanding the Department of the Etowah, 
had force enough to take care of Wheeler, Sherman proposed to 
take advantage of what he regarded as a rare opportunity to 
break the Macon road with his own cavalry. Pinning his faith 
to Kilpatrick, this time, he ordered that brigadier to take two of 
Garrard's brigades to reinforce his own command and sweep 
down the Sandtown road from the west, while Garrard, with the 
remainder of his command, moved south from Decatur to co- 
operate with Kilpatrick from the east side of the railroad. Over 
Soo cavalrvmen of McCook's division were at Calhoun, four 



Operations Near East Point And Wheeler' 1 ; Raid 537 

miles from where the cattle were captured. On the 15th word 
came from Resaca that Dalton was invested by Wheeler, the 
enemy using artillery; that the surrender of the place had been 
demanded. 

On the 17th Hood was made glad by the following message 
from General Wheeler : "Colonel Thompson destroyed the rail- 
road near Big Shanty for one mile on Friday night. Colonel 
Harmon, commanding brigade, destroyed the railroad near Cal- 
houn on Saturday night, capturing 1,020 beef cattle and a few 
wagons. Allen's brigade and Humes's and Kelly's divisions de- 
stroyed the railroad for several miles between Resaca and Tunnel 
Hill, and Kelly's and parts of Humes's commands captured Dal- 
ton Sunday evening with a considerable amount of stores, 3 
trains of cars, and 200 fine mules. The train and part of the 
stores were destroyed and the remainder appropriated. 

"Prisoners report reinforcements at Chattanooga, said to be 
part of A. J. Smith's troops. On Monday morning we were 
attacked by General Steedman with about 4,000 infantry, and 
obliged to leave Dalton. Our entire loss up to this time about 
30, most of them still with the command. 

"The most violent rains have embarrassed me very much, 
and made some of the roads very bad. The large force sent from 
Chattanooga prevented our working at the tunnel. I have sev- 
eral parties still working at the railroad." 

The capture of Dalton by Wheeler furnishes an interesting 
chapter in the history of the Atlanta campaign. Humes's and 
Kelly's commands took possession of the place, appropriating to 
the use of the Confederacy a considerable amount of United 
States army stores and property. The Union garrison at Dal- 
ton, while unable to prevent the town falling into the hands of 
Wheeler's cavalry, made a determined and successful resistance 
behind their earthworks on the outskirts of Dalton, holding their 
fort until reinforcements drove the enemy away. Colonel Lai- 
boldt, who commanded the Federal garrison at Dalton, sent in 
the following report of the affair : 

"About 4 p. m. on Sunday, the 14th, a part of Wheeler's 
force, at the lowest estimate 5,000 strong, surrounded the town 
of Dalton, and after some picket-firing the following demand for 
surrender was sent to me under flag of truce : 



538 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Headquarters Cavalry Corps, Army of Tennessee, 
Officer Commanding U. S. Forces, Dalton : 

To prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood, I have the 
honor to demand the immediate and unconditional surrender of 
the forces under your command at this garrison. 
Respectfully, yours, etc., 

Jos. Wheeler, 
Major-General, Commanding. 
■ To which I answered : 

Officer Commanding Confederate Forces in Front of 

Dalton : 

I have been placed here to defend this post, but not to surren- 
der. B. Laiboldt, 

Colonel Second Missouri Volunteers, Commanding Post. 

"After receiving my answer General Wheeler sent word to 
me that he would wait sixty seconds for my surrender, of which 
no notice was taken. He again requested to see me personally, 
but though an old acquaintance by the Charleston, Tenn., thrash- 
ing I gave him, I declined the honor and let him know that he 
would have to take me first before he could see me personally. 
After skirmishing with the enemy for about two hours, my men 
were driven back to the earthworks erected by me on a hill east of 
the railroad depot and commanding the city, but unprotected by 
artillery. General Wheeler made forthwith a charge, which 
was gallantly repulsed, and a line of skirmishers thrown imme- 
diately after, which advanced about 100 yards from the fortifi- 
cations. General Wheeler again sent a flag of truce, which I 
refused to accept, having the bearer notified that at another ad- 
vance of such a flag it would be fired upon, which, under my or- 
ders, was done accordingly when a third attempt to approach me 
in that manner was made. At about 8 o'clock in the evening the 
enemy brought up two pieces of artillery and fired several rounds 
at a brick house inside of my breast-works, which firing, how- 
ever, did not interfere in the least with my skirmishers, who kept 
up their firing continually during the night. At about 1 1 o'clock 
the enemy's artillery fire was renewed, and solid shot and shell 



Operations Near East Point And Wheeler's Raid 539 

thrown into my breast-works and the before mentioned brick 
house until about 12 p. m. From that time to daybreak the 
sharpshooters and advanced skirmishers picked at each other 
lively, when, at about 5 o'clock in the morning, I saw the head of 
Wheeler's column move out of town toward Tunnel Hill, and 
an hour or two afterward heard heavy firing in that direction. 
Knowing then that reinforcements had arrived, my men were or- 
dered to charge toward the Spring Place road, and with an un- 
common cheering they rushed out of the works and drove the 
enemy, with a severe loss to him, out of sight." 

The day after Wheeler entered Dalton, Kilpatrick swooped 
down on the West Point road at Fairburn, doing considerable 
damage before he returned to Sandtown, but this expedition was 
really superfluous, so far as the importance of that railroad to 
Hood was concerned. It had been decided to abandon it. Kil- 
patrick reported on the 16th: "I succeeded in reaching and de- 
stroying the depot and public buildings at Fairburn, telegraph 
wire and railroad track for about three miles. Drove Ross's 
brigade, of Jackson's division, out of his camp, situated on Camp 
Creek, about three miles from the railroad, and went into camp 
late last evening near that point. I marched at an early hour 
this morning, crossing Camp Creek, and moved to attack Jack- 
son's division, said to be situated on Camp Creek road, near East 
Point, but I was unable to find any force of the enemy. I scout- 
ed the entire country between Camp Creek and the railroad to 
within one mile and a half of East Point. I was informed that 
the enemy had here a considerable force of infantry, and a part 
of Jackson's division of cavalry, dismounted and in the trenches. 
The enemy seemed to make but little or no effort to prevent me 
from reaching the railroad at any point below East Point Station. 
I infer from this that the road is to be abandoned. The enemy's 
cavalry has certainly all been withdrawn from this portion of his 
line save two brigades, of Jackson's division, which force is not 
at all formidable." 

Sherman was nevertheless elated. To General Elliott, 
chief of cavalry, he wrote : "I believe General Kilpatrick, with 
his own and General Garrard's cavalry, could go straight for 
Rough and Ready, and break the Macon road all to pieces." Of 



54° Atlanta And Its Builders 

Garrard he had a poor opinion. He regarded him as over- 
cautious and too slow for a cavalry chief. When Sherman 
heard Garrard had returned to Decatur without even having had 
a brush with the enemy, he became enraged and determined to 
remove him from command, telling Thomas he would put Gar- 
rard on his staff and send him to Nashville to supervise the 
equipment and armament of cavalry. He recommended the ap- 
pointment of Colonel Long as a brigadier, in order that he might 
be eligible to succeed General Garrard. Thomas interceded for 
Garrard, reminding Sherman that he had done good work on his 
Roswell and Covington raids, and that his caution saved his cav- 
alry to the army, where in command of a mad-cap it would soon 
share the fate of Stoneman. Sherman replied petulantly : "I 
am willing to admit that General Garrard's excessive prudence 
saves his cavalry to us, but though saved, it is as useless as so 
many sticks. Saving himself, he sacrifices others operating in 
conjoint expeditions. I am so thoroughly convinced that if he 
can see a horseman in the distance with a spy-glass he will turn 
back, that I cannot again depend on his making an effort, though 
he knows a commander depends on him. If we cannot use that 
cavalry now, at this moment, when can we? Wheeler is out of 
the way, and when shall we use cavalry, if not now? If we wait 
till Wheeler returns, of course an opportunity is lost, which never 
is repeated in war." 

With the ironical humor that was so much his nature, Sher- 
man reported Garrard's return to Generals Schofield and How- 
ard, as follows: "General Garrard is back; went seven miles; 
saw some horsemen and came back. General John E. Smith is 
at Resaca, and the enemy is at Spring Place. I think Generals 
Smith and Steedman can so manage that Wheeler will be driven 
north." Garrard's removal was held in abeyance, however, 
through Thomas's influence. Sherman determined to lose no 
time in striking hard at the Macon road with cavalry. He or- 
dered Kilpatrick and Garrard to fit up a formidable expedition to 
break the road effectually near Jonesboro. "If Wheeler inter- 
rupts our supplies," Sherman remarked, "we can surely cut off 
those of Hood, and see who can stand it best." To McCook he 
wired : "Remain with General Smith and help him all you 



Operations Near East Point And Wheeler's Raid 541 

can. If you can keep Wheeler up about Spring Place and 
Cleveland, do so. Telegraph to Colonel Donaldson, Nashville, 
to send down cavalry by cars, and also call for all cavalry you 
can hear of that is within reach. I want Wheeler dogged, the 
prisoners and plunder rescued, and his force damaged all that is 
possible." 

In the meantime, Wheeler was a source of great vexation to 
Sherman. Before he crossed the Tennessee line, in obedience 
to Hood's orders, he kept the Federal communications inter- 
rupted for the better part of two weeks. After he vacated Dal- 
ton, Wheeler detached marauding parties to harry the enemy in 
every way possible, and during the whole month of August Sher- 
man was in almost daily receipt of messages apprising him of 
minor injuries to his telegraph and railroad. Wheeler says he 
only abandoned North Georgia because he could get no fit for- 
age for his horses, which were in a pitiable condition and lining 
the roads with their emaciated carcasses. He sought the fertile 
valleys of the Oconee and Hiwassee to save his command from 
being dismounted. Wheeler did not return to Hood until after 
the fall of Atlanta, rejoining the army at Cedartown, when Hood 
was about to set out on his grand expedition against Sherman's 
line of communication. His long raid was a severe one on his 
command, but in many respects highly successful. He labored 
to cut the enemy off from obtaining forage in southeast Tennes- 
see, destroyed the railroad from Cleveland to Charleston, crossed 
the Hiwassee and captured Athens, where were stored many Fed- 
eral supplies, and broke the railroad on to Loudon. Small Fed- 
eral garrisons were attacked and captured by Wheeler as he 
passed through a wide section of Tennessee, together with many 
horses, mules, cattle, and miscellaneous stores and supplies. He 
had a hot brush with a column of Federal cavalry while crossing 
the Holston river above Knoxville, which he repulsed with con- 
siderable loss. Wheeler was greatly embarrassed by the detach- 
ment of two brigades from his command under Williams, who 
had undertaken an unsuccessful expedition against Strawberry 
Plains. Williams took off half the artillery, and being unable 
to rejoin Wheeler, the latter was compelled to make his extensive 
raid across Tennessee, nearly to Nashville, without him. Much 



542 Atlanta And Its Builders 

damage was done to the railroad between Chattanooga and 
Nashville, including rolling stock. Near the latter city General 
Rousseau came out to oppose Wheeler with a superior force of 
infantry and cavalry, but unsuccessfully. In this engagement 
Harrison's brigade charged the Federals, driving them two miles, 
capturing 3 stand of colors, a number of prisoners, arms, etc. 
Wheeter dashed upon the Nashville and Decatur road, breaking 
it very badly. Several loaded trains were destroyed. Wheeler 
says : "During these movements Major-Generals Rousseau and 
Steedman and Brigadier-Generals Croxton and Granger had con- 
centrated their forces and had attacked me at Franklin, Lynn- 
ville, Campbellville, and other points. In every instance they 
were repulsed, although their troops outnumbered mine four- 
fold." From the Alabama border Wheeler was ordered to return 
east and do mischief to Sherman's railroad south of Chattanooga, 
Forrest being in position to look after Tennessee. Wheeler 
again got upon the Western and Atlantic, and says of his execu- 
tion : "I moved with the balance of my command to the railroad 
near Dalton, captured and destroyed a train of cars, and destroyed 
the railroad to such an extent that, with the additional effect of a 
heavy rain, no train passed over the road for a period of thirteen 
days. I here received an order to return immediately to the army 
which I joined near Cedartown." 

Wheeler reported his losses on the entire expedition as 150 
men killed, wounded and missing, while he brought out more 
than 2,000 recruits for his own and other commands and returned 
800 absentees to the army. He brought off all his wounded who 
could bear transportation, and fully 100 captured wagons. He 
sums up the result of the expedition : 

"First. Causing the enemy to send to their rear to rein- 
force their garrisons, troops several times as strong as my force. 

"Second. The destruction of the enemy's line of communi- 
cation for a longer period than any cavalry expedition, however 
large, has done. 

"Third. The capture, destruction, or appropriation of 
stores. 

"Fourth. Breaking up depots and fortified posts in Ten- 
nessee and Georgia. 



Operations Near East Point And Wheeler's Raid 543 

"Fifth. Capture of 1,000 horses and mules, 200 wagons, 
600 prisoners, and 1,700 head of beef-cattle. 

"Sixth. Capture and destruction of over 20 trains of cars 
loaded with supplies. 

"Seventh. Bringing into the service of the Confederate 
States over 3,000 recruits. 

"All this was accomplished behind the enemy's line with a 
loss of but 150 men killed, wounded and missing. In every 
engagement with the enemy's cavalry we were in all respects vic- 
torious, capturing prisoners, colors, and arms. 

"During the time embraced in this report my command has 
averaged twenty-five miles a day in direct marching, either swam 
or forded twenty-seven rivers, and has captured, killed or wound- 
ed three times the greatest effective strength it has ever been able 
to carry into action. Besides this it has captured and turned over 
to the government an amount of property of more value than the 
entire expense of my command has been to the Confederate 
States." 

Referring to the cavalry operations of this period, particu- 
larly to Sherman's attempt to do damage to his line of communi- 
cation while Wheeler was absent, General Hood says: "The 19th, 
nigh two weeks after Wheeler's departure with about one-half of 
our cavalry force, General Sherman took advantage of the absence 
of these troops and again attempted a lodgment on the Macon 
road with cavalry. At 3.30 a.m., General Kilpatrick was reported 
to be moving via Fairburn, in the direction of Jonesboro. General 
Jackson quickly divined his object, moved rapidly in pursuit, 
overtook him at an early hour, attacked and forced him to retreat 
after sustaining considerable loss in killed, wounded and prison- 
ers. The Federals had previously destroyed a mile and a half of 
the Macon road, and they had cut the wires and destroyed the 
depot at Jonesboro. 

"Our cavalry also drove a brigade of the enemy from the 
Augusta road on the 22d, which affair, together with the happy 
results obtained in the engagement with Kilpatrick, demon- 
strated conclusively that the absence of one-half of our mounted 
force notwithstanding, we had still a sufficient number, with 
Jackson, to protect not only the flanks of the army, but likewise 



544 Atlanta And Its Builders 

our communications against similar raids, and, moreover, to 
defend our people against pillaging expeditions. 

"The severe handling by Wheeler and Iverson of the troops 
under Stoneman and McCook, together with Jackson's success, 
induced me not to recall Wheeler's 4,500 men, who were still 
operating against the railroad to Nashville. I had, moreover, 
become convinced that our cavalry was able to compete success- 
fully with double their number. Our cavalry were not cavalry- 
men proper, but were mounted riflemen, trained to dismount and 
hold in check or delay the advance of the enemy, and who had 
learned by experience that they could without much difficulty 
defeat the Federal cavalry." 

The story of Kilpatrick's cavalry raid against Jonesboro on 
the 19th of August is an interesting one. He was partially suc- 
cessful. His attack on the Macon road had a very vital bearing 
on Sherman's subsequent movement of his entire army around to 
the west and south of Atlanta, and the final battle of Jonesboro. 
Kilpatrick assured Sherman of his confidence in his ability to do 
what was expected of him, and Sherman set the night of the 18th 
as the date for setting out from Saudtown. Sherman said to 
Thomas : "I do not want to move this vast army and its para- 
phernalia round Atlanta unless forced to do so, and it does seem 
the enemy has offered us the very opportunity we seek. W'e 
know positively that Wheeler is above Dalton, and that he must 
have taken the very flower of his cavalry. He has, and may do 
us harm, but that we cannot help. I do not think he can carry 
any point of our road that he can maintain, and his own necessi- 
ties will force him back soon with jaded and worn-out horses. 
Now, ours can be moved quickly to Saudtown at a walk, and 
according to General Kilpatrick can reach Red Oak or any point 
below the enemy's infantry, and by a single dash can beat the 
remaining cavalry of the enemy and break up many miles of that 
railroad. General Garrard with one brigade could amuse those 
on the east, and General Kilpatrick with his own and two brigades 
of General Garrard, under Colonel Long, could make in a single 
move a break that would disturb Hood seriously. The risk will 
be comparatively small, as General Schofield can act in support 
with his whole command. I am perfectly alive to the fact that 



Operations Near East Point And Wheeler's Raid 545 

the loss of our cavalry would be most serious, but I do think such 
an opportunity if neglected will never again appear." 

Sherman sent to Thomas the following instructions for Kil- 
patrick : "I beg you will convey the following orders to govern 
General Kilpatrick in his movement on the Macon road. It is not 
a raid, but a deliberate attack for the purpose of so disabling that 
road that the enemy will be unable to supply his army in Atlanta. 
He will have his own division of cavalry and two good brigades 
from General Garrard's division. With these he will move to- 
morrow night, aiming to cross the West Point road between Red 
Oak and Fairburn. If he has time he should remove a small 
section of the road without using fire, simply to lessen the chances 
of an infantry force being sent to intercept his return. He should 
then move in force to the nearest point of the Macon road, about 
Jonesboro, and should destroy as much of that road as he 
possibly can do, working steadily until forced to take to his arms 
and horses for battle. He should avoid battle with infantry or 
artillery, but may safely fight any cavalry he encounters, because 
we know that the enemy has sent Wheeler with full 6,000 cavalry 
up into East Tennessee. I leave the extent of the break to Gen- 
eral Kilpatrick, but will only say that he cannot destroy too much. 
Having fulfilled his task he will return and resume his post on the 
right flank of the army and send General Garrard's brigades back 
to their division on the left. General Schofield will be instructed 
to move to his right as far as prudent the day after to-morrow 
and all the army should so engage the attention of the enemy that 
he cannot detach infantry as against General Kilpatrick. In- 
struct the general to advise us at the earliest possible moment of 
his success." 

The day before Kilpatrick started Sherman received word 
from Allatoona that 700 of the cattle captured by Wheeler had 
been recaptured by his own cavalry, and that the broken railroad 
would be speedily repaired. Steedman reported that the Federal 
loss at Dalton was 10 killed and 55 wounded, to 200 of the enemy 
killed and wounded. Two surgeons and 40 of Wheeler's wound- 
ed were captured. 

The following instructions were given General Garrard by 
Thomas to aid Kilpatrick while making his attempt to break the 

35-i 



546 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Macon road: "To facilitate the success of General Kilpatrick 
as much as possible, I wish you to be in Decatur by daylight to- 
morrow morning (19th) with the effective force you have with 
you. Then move in the direction of Flat Rock and Atlanta, and 
so attract the enemy's attention by skirmishing and threatening 
as to induce him to believe that you are about to attack his flank, 
then by moving off toward Stone Mountain, draw him after you 
as far as possible, and swing round toward your present position 
in the direction of Peachtree road. This movement should be 
continued throughout the day, and the enemy should be threat- 
ened again early on the morning of the 20th instant by a similar 
movement as the one above directed. By this means it is hoped 
you will be able to hold all the cavalry the enemy now has on his 
right flank, and thereby give General Kilpatrick at least twelve 
hours on the Macon road." 

On the 17th General Grant sent the following dispatch to 
General Sherman from City Point : "Richmond papers of the 
17th give it as the opinion of military men that Atlanta can hold 
out one month yet. In the meantime, like Micawber, they expect 
something to turn up. If you can hold fast as you are now and 
prevent raids upon your rear you will destroy most of that army. 
I never would advise going backward even if your roads are cut 
so as to preclude the possibility of receiving supplies from the 
North, but would recommend the accumulation of ordnance stores 
and supplies while you can, and if it comes to the worst move 
south as you suggested." 

On the 1 8th Sherman sent this information to Halleck : 
"We have been hammering away at Atlanta, and I was going to 
put a corps (intrenched) at the railroad bridge, and with the 
balance swing round by the south and east ; but Hood has sent off 
his cavalry, which touched our road at two or three points, which 
are already repaired, and that cavalry has gone up into East 
Tennessee, leaving me now superior in cavalry, and I hope the 
opportunity thus given me will save me the risk and excessive 
labor of making a wide circuit in this hot weather. To-night 
General Kilpatrick will start for the Macon road with five brig- 
ades of cavalry, which can whip all the enemy's cavalry present, 
and to-morrow I will demonstrate along my whole line to give 




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548 Atlanta And Its Builders 

General Kilpatrick time to make a good break in that road, so 
vital to Hood. We all feel confident we can succeed; and for that 
reason I do not regret that Wheeler has gone up to East Tennes- 
see. I think we have force enough at Knoxville, the Gap, and 
Kingston to hold vital points until necessity will force Wheeler 
to come back; but I will leave him to be attended to by those in 
my rear." 

On the 18th Sherman expressed a fear that Hood might 
attempt to pass around his left flank in the direction of Roswell. 
following the movement of Wheeler's cavalry. In such a con- 
tingency he proposed to move Schofield, and, if need be, Howard, 
in that direction. During Kilpatrick's absence of four days, the 
entire Federal army made extraordinary demonstrations to hold 
Hood in his trenches, and especially to hold his cavalry on his 
flanks. Schofield threatened to make a lodgment against the 
Macon road near East Point, and Stanley, on the extreme Federal 
left, threatened to get around the Confederate flank near Decatur. 
The commanders reported the enemy in as great force as ever, 
apparently expecting an attack. In the meantime, Sherman went 
ahead with his preparations to swing his army astride of the 
Macon road, if such a course was necessary by Kilpatrick's failure. 
He had already promulgated his orders for the purpose, but de- 
ferred their execution until Kilpatrick had had time to act. His 
plan will be thoroughly explained in the following chapter. Oti 
the 22d Kilpatrick got back with what was left of his command, 
and that night Sherman wired Halleck : 

"General Kilpatrick is back. He had pretty hard fighting 
with a division of infantry and three brigades of cavalry. He 
broke the cavalry into disorder and captured a battery, which he 
destroyed, except one gun, which he brought in in addition to all 
his own. He also brought in 3 captured flags and 70 prisoners. 
He had possession of a large part of Ross's brigade, but could not 
encumber himself with them. He destroyed three miles of the 
road about Jonesboro, and broke pieces for about 10 miles 
more, enough to disable the road for ten days. I expect I will 
have to swing across to that road in force to make the matter 
certain. General Kilpatrick destroyed 2 locomotives and trains. 
It has been very quiet with us here. Wheeler is about Athens, 



Operations Near East Point And Wheeler's Raid 549 

Term., and General Steedman will move out against him from 
Chattanooga." 

General Kilpatrick's story of his hazardous expedition fol- 
lows: "I left my camp at Sandtown on the evening of the 18th 
instant with the Third Cavalry Division, and two brigades of the 
Second and two batteries of artillery, numbering 4,500 men, to 
attack and destroy the enemy's communications. Pickets from 
the Sixth Texas were met and driven across Camp Creek, and the 
regiment routed from its camp a mile beyond at 10 o'clock in the 
evening, and at 12.30 a. m. General Ross's brigade, 1,100 strong, 
was driven from my front in direction of East Point, and held 
from the road by the Second Brigade, Third Division (Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Jones), while the entire command passed. The West 
Point railroad was reached, and a portion of the track destroyed 
at daylight. Here General Ross attacked my rear. He was 
repulsed, and I moved on the Fayetteville road, where I again 
found him in front. He slowly retired in the direction of Jones- 
borough, and crossed Flint river at 2 p. m., destroying the bridge. 
Under cover of my artillery Colonels Minty and Long, command- 
ing detachments from their brigades, crossed the river and drove 
the enemy from his rifle-pits. The bridge was repaired, and the 
entire command crossed and occupied Jonesboro at 5 p. m., 
driving the enemy's cavalry in confusion from the town. I now 
learned that the telegraph and railroad had been destroyed at 
Bear Creek Station at n a. m. by a portion of my command, 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Klein, and that General Armstrong 
had passed through Jonesboro in that direction at 1 p. m. 
For six hours my entire command was engaged in destroying the 
road. At 11 o'clock in the evening Colonel Murray's division 
was attacked one mile below the town and driven back. I now 
suspended operations upon the road and attacked the enemy and 
drove him one mile and a half. Fearing an attack from the direc- 
tion of Atlanta, I moved before daylight, in direction of Coving- 
ton, five miles, and halted and allowed the enemy to come up ; left 
one brigade to engage his attention, and moved rapidly in direc- 
tion of McDonough, six miles, thence across the country to the 
Fayetteville road, and reached the railroad one mile above Love- 
joy's Station at 1 1 a. m. on the 20th instant. On attempting to 
move on the station I encountered a brigade of infantry — was 



55° Atlanta And Its Builders 

repulsed ; I and my command only saved by the prompt and dar- 
ing [bravery] of Colonels Minty and Long, and Captain Estes, 
my assistant adjutant-general. 

"The enemy were finally checked and driven back with heavy 
loss. We captured i battle-flag. At this moment a staff officer 
from Colonel Murray informed me that a large force of cavalry, 
with artillery, had attacked his rear. In twenty minutes I found 
that I was completely enveloped by cavalry and infantry, with 
artillery. I decided at once to ride over the enemy's cavalry and 
retire on the McDonough road. A large number of my people 
were dismounted, fighting on foot, and it took some time to 
mount them and form my command for the charge. During the 
delay the enemy constructed long lines of barricades on every 
side. Those in front of his cavalry were very formidable. Pion- 
eers were sent in front of the charging columns to remove ob- 
structions. Colonel Minty, with his command in three columns, 
charged, broke, and rode over the enemy's left. Colonel Murray, 
with his regiments, broke his center, and in a moment General 
Jackson's division, 4,000 strong, was running in great confusion. 
It was the most perfect rout any cavalry has sustained during the 
war. We captured 4 guns (3 were destroyed and 1 brought 
off); 3 battle-flags were taken; his ambulances, wagons, and 
ordnance train captured, and destroyed as far as possible; many 
prisoners were taken, and his killed and wounded is known to be 
large. My command was quickly reformed, thrown into posi- 
tion, fought successfully the enemy's infantry for one hour and 
forty minutes, and only retired when it was found that we had 
left only sufficient ammunition to make sure our retreat. We 
swam Cotton Indian Creek and crossed South River on the morn- 
ing of the 21st and reached our lines near Decatur, by way of 
Lithonia, without molestation, at 2 p. m. August 22. We effect- 
ively destroyed four miles of the Macon road, from Jonesboro 
to Bear Creek Station, a distance of ten miles. One train of cars 
was fully, and a second partially, destroyed. We brought into 
camp 1 gun, 3 battle-flags, and a large number of fresh horses and 
mules and about 50 prisoners. My entire loss in killed, wounded 
and missing will not exceed 300 men. Two hundred of this num- 
ber were killed and wounded. Only the dangerously wounded 
were left with the enemy." 



CHAPTER XXXVI 
Sherman's grand flank movement 

In order thoroughly to understand the grand flank movement 
that landed practically all of Sherman's army "astride of the 
Macon road," compelling Hood to give Sherman battle and aban- 
don Atlanta, the publication of the special field orders governing 
the movement will be found of service. It was Sherman's pur- 
pose toexecutethis movement a week before he did so, but he con- 
cluded to await the result of Kilpatrick's cavalry raid against the 
Macon railroad in the vicinity of Jonesboro, hoping that sufficient 
damage would be done the enemy's single line of communication 
to render unnecessary the abandonment of his original lines to the 
north and west of Atlanta. It took several days for Kilpatrick 
to make his expedition and return, and several days longer for 
Sherman to learn that the damage he had done had been over- 
estimated. The following orders, therefore, are substantially as 
carried out, with the modification of the dates caused by the delay : 

Special Field Orders, Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 

No. 57 /// the Field, near Atlanta, August 16, 1864. 

The movement of the army against the Macon railroad will 
begin Thursday night, August 18, and will be continued on the 
following general plan : 

I. All army commanders will send across the Chattahoo- 
chee River and within the old rebel works at the bridge and down 
as far as Turner's Ferry all surplus wagons, horses, men, and 
materials not absolutely necessary to the success of the expedition, 
and will collect in their wagons with best teams bread, meat, 
sugar, coffee, etc., for fifteen days after the 19th, and ammunition, 
and park them near Utoy Creek. 

55i 



552 Atlanta And Its Builders 

First move : General Kilpatrick's cavalry will move to 
Camp Creek; General Schofield will cover the Campbellton road, 
and General Thomas will move one corps (General Williams's) 
to the Chattahoochee bridge, with orders to hold it, Pace's Ferry 
bridge, and a pontoon bridge (Captain Kossak's), at Turner's 
Ferry, ready to be laid down if necessary. The other corps, 
General Stanley's, will move south of Proctor's Creek, to near 
the Utoy, behind the right center of the Army of the Tennessee, 
prepared to cover the Bell's Ferry road. General Garrard's 
cavalry will fall behind Peachtree Creek, and act against the 
enemy should he sally against General Williams's or General 
Stanley's corps during the movement. 

Second move: The Army of the Tennessee will withdraw, 
cross Utoy Creek, and move by the most direct road toward Fair- 
burn, going as far as Camp Creek. General Thomas will mass 
his two corps, Generals Stanley's and Johnson's, below Utoy 
Creek, and General Garrard's cavalry will join General Thomas 
by the most direct road or by way of Sandtown bridge, and act 
with him during the rest of the move. General Schofield will 
advance abreast of and in communication with the Army of the 
Tennessee as far as Camp Creek. 

Third move : The Armies of the Ohio and Tennessee will 
move direct for the West Point road, aiming to strike it between 
Red Oak and Fairburn. General Thomas will follow well closed 
up in two columns, the trains between. General Kilpatrick will 
act as the advance, and General Garrard will cover the rear, under 
direction of General Thomas. The bridges at Sandtown will be 
kept and protected by a detachment of cavalry detailed by General 
Elliott, with a section of guns or four-gun battery. 

II. During the movement, and until the army returns to the 
river, the utmost care will be taken to expose as little as possible 
the trains of cars and wagons. The depots at the bridge, at Alla- 
toona and Marietta will be held against any attack, and com- 
munications kept up with the army as far as possible by way of 
Sandtown. On reaching any railroad, the troops will at once be 
disposed for defense, and at least one-third put to work to tear 
up track and destroy iron, ties, and all railroad materials. 

By order of Major-General Sherman : 

L. M. Dayton, Aidc-dc-Camp. 



Sherman's Grand Flank Movement 553 

While Sherman was awaiting Kilpatrick's return and com- 
pleting his arrangements to move his army to the south of Atlanta 
the news of Wheeler's activities was not calculated to improve his 
patience. Nearly every day his telegraph and railroad communi- 
cations with Chattanooga or Nashville were interrupted, and the 
forces under Steedman did not seem able to effectually prevent 
the enemy's small raids or to inflict any appreciable degree of 
punishment upon the raiders. General McCook, commanding 
the chief cavalry force operating against Wheeler in North Geor- 
gia, made the following suggestion on the 226. of August : "I 
am satisfied that the recent attacks on the road south of the Etowah 
have been encouraged and assisted by citizens. If some terrible 
lesson is not taught them now, our line of communication will 
suffer through the whole campaign. If they learn that when they 
destroy our railroad we will destroy their houses, I think they will 
be willing to quit. The experiment is worth trying, at any rate." 
On the 23d Sherman wired his commanders that "as near as I 
can make out the rebels have repaired the Macon road, and we 
must swing across it." Kilpatrick had returned but the day 
before, making a report that Sherman thought justified the belief 
that the road was broken for ten days at least. On the same 
day Sherman wired Halleck : 

"All well. Give currency to the idea that I am to remain 
quiet till events transpire in other quarters, and let the idea be 
printed, so as to reach Richmond in three days. You understand 
the effect." 

On the 24th General Garrard took a brigade of his cavalry to 
Stone Mountain and broke a stretch of five miles of the Augusta 
railroad that had been left intact by former breaking expeditions. 
That Sherman had counted on the contingency of being cut off 
from his communications at the Chattahoochee river bridge and a 
movement to exactly the opposite side of Atlanta, is shown by the 
following message to Thomas : 

"Have your signal corps provided with rockets and agree 
upon signals by rockets or signal smoke for a few simple messages 
such as 'All well,' 'Send boats to Campbellton,' 'Send a brigade, 
division, or regiment to Campbellton,' also 'Look out for us at 
Roswell.' These signals may be of use to us when we get beyond 
safe distance for couriers via Sandtown." 



554 Atlanta And Its Builders 

The commander at Dalton informed Sherman on the 23d 
that a company sent from Resaca to engage the enemy's cavalry 
near Spring Place had been repulsed and well nigh all captured. 
On the 24th Sherman wired Halleck : 

"Heavy fires in Atlanta all day, caused by our artillery. I 
will be all ready and will commence the movement round Atlanta 
by the south to-morrow night, and for some time you will hear 
little of me. I will keep open a courier line with Chattahoochee 
bridge by way of Sandtown. The Twentieth Corps will hold 
the bridge, and I will move with the balance of the army, pro- 
visioned for twenty days." 

From the Chattahoochee bridge Sherman sent this message 
to Thomas on the 24th : "You had better order down the pion- 
eers and working parties with Lieutenant Ludlow, engineer de- 
partment, and prepare the bridge-head before the troops come 
down ; the two small redoubts here on this side are inefficient and 
of little account. It may be the troops will not have time to cover 
themselves and the bridge before Hood may strike them, as his 
first impression may and will be that our whole army is retiring." 

It is certain that Kilpatrick's raid did not disconcert Hood to 
any great extent, though inconveniencing him somewhat. He 
referred to the incident in a six-line dispatch to Richmond, stating 
that the damage done was slight and that the enemy's cavalry had 
been completed routed at Lovejoy's Station and many prisoners, 
two stands of colors and one piece of artillery captured. 

On the night of the 24th Sherman accomplished the first 
stage of his grand movement according to programme, and in the 
morning the Confederates discovered his withdrawal from their 
immediate front. They moved their skirmishers into the old 
Federal works, but offered no opposing movement. The Federal 
lookouts reported from their signal stations : "The enemy could 
be seen, gathered in groups, looking intently toward our late 
lines." This at 7.30. "At 1 1 a. m. a few straggling rebels could 
be seen rambling about the w r orks lately held by the Twentieth 
Army Corps. These stragglers picked up a few of our men that 
straggled behind, probably from the Fourth Army Corps, as a 
portion of that corps w T ere in that vicinity." 

On the evening of the 25th the army telegrapher wired 
Washington : "Armies finally in motion. Headquarters Army 



Sherman's Grand Flank Movement 555 

of the Cumberland struck camp at 9 a. m. his day, and my front 
office is now at Chattahoochee, near the railroad bridge, where 
Stanley, with his Fourth Corps, is intrenched. General Steed- 
man telegraphs from Charleston, Term., that Wheeler has crossed 
the Little Tennessee, and is crossing Holston, going to Middle 
Tennessee or Kentucky, probably the former, to destroy rail- 
roads." 

On the 26th Sherman informed Halleck : "I have moved 
the Twentieth Corps to the Chattahoochee bridge, where it is in- 
trenched, and with the balance of the army am moving for Jones- 
boro on the Macon road. Last night we made the first move 
without trouble; to-night I make the second, and the third will 
place the army massed near Fairburn. If Hood attacks he must 
come out, which is all we ask. All well thus far." 

Hood wired the secretary of war at Richmond as follows on 
the 26th : "Last night the enemy abandoned the Augusta rail- 
road and all the country between that road and the Dalton rail- 
road. His left now rests on the Dalton railroad. He has not 
extended his right at all. We received to-day 1,000 head of 
cattle, captured by a portion of Major-General Wheeler's com- 
mand." 

On the 27th General Slocum, lately arrived from the Missis- 
sippi to succeed Hooker in command of the Twentieth Army 
Corps, sent Sherman the following message from his station at 
the bridge : "I have the honor to report that I have to-day 
assumed the command of the Twentieth Corps. The corps is in 
position as directed, at Pace's, Montgomery's, and Turner's Fer- 
ries, and intrenched. Yesterday afternoon Geary's division, at 
Pace's Ferry, had some sharp skirmishing with the enemy's cav- 
alry, capturing a few prisoners. My headquarters are near the 
railroad bridge." 

Hood sent another message to the secretary of war on the 
27th, saying : "Last night the enemy continued [to] change their 
position by their left and center. They have drawn back so that 
their left is now on the Chattahoochee at the railroad bridge; 
their right is unchanged, and they appear to be moving troops in 
that direction. They have no troops nearer than four miles of 
Atlanta." 



556 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Sherman's plan was to break the West Point railroad thor- 
oughly with infantry before moving over to the Macon railroad 
at or near Jonesboro. He accomplished the second stage of his 
movement without opposition and wired Washington on the 
28th : "Army of Tennessee is on the West Point railroad near 
Fairburn ; Army of the Cumberland is on the same road at Red 
Oak; and that of the Ohio will be to-night at Camp Creek. 
Enemy has made no serious opposition to our movement." 

Sherman spent the 29th in breaking the West Point railroad 
in the most approved military fashion. His mode of procedure, 
as given in his instructions to Thomas, may interest the reader. 
He said : "Let the destruction be so thorough that not a rail or 
tie can be used again. My own experience demonstrates the 
proper method to be : To march a regiment to the road, stack 
arms, loosen two rails opposite the right and two opposite the 
left of the regiment, then to heave the whole track, rails and ties, 
over, breaking it all to pieces, then pile the ties in the nature of 
crib work and lay the rails over them, then by means of fence rails 
make a bonfire, and when the rails are red-hot in the middle let 
men give the rail a twist, which cannot be straightened without 
machinery. Also fill up some of the cuts with heavy logs and 
trunks of trees and branches and cover up and fill with dirt." 

The Confederates made a demonstration upon General Cox's 
right, Schofield's corps, about noon of the 28th, but got back into 
their works without fighting upon finding the Federals in force. 
Cox then withdrew and followed the rest of the army without 
annoyance. After Sherman had completed his work of destroy- 
ing the West Point road and was ready to resume the direct offen- 
sive against Hood at Jonesboro, he instructed Slocum at the Chat- 
tahoochee bridge: "The major-general commanding directs that 
you assume command of and collect together all stragglers who 
are to be found in your vicinity. Those that are armed, organize 
for the defense of the tete-de-pont ; those that are unarmed put to 
work upon the defenses. The same will apply to detachments of 
convalescents, etc., en route to join their regiments. He also 
directs that you keep out pickets and watch well the movements 
of the enemy, and should he leave Atlanta, to occupy the place by, 
say, one division, if you can do so without endangering the safety 



Sherman's Grand Flank Movement 557 

of the tete-de-pont. It seems impossible that the rebels should be 
able to carry away all their artillery and ammunition, and if you 
cannot hold the place you may possibly destroy this artillery and 
ammunition." 

On the 30th the movement against the Macon road began in 
earnest. The Army of the Tennessee moved direct for Jonesboro, 
the other two grand divisions heading to strike the road north of 
Howard. During the march the Federals were greatly annoyed 
by the Confederate cavalry under Jackson, and as they approached 
the Macon railroad their skirmishers came constantly in contact 
with the enemy's pickets. General Stanley, commanding the 
Fourth Army Corps, had quite a brush with the enemy on the 
Flat Shoals road. While the army was thus advancing to the 
south of Atlanta, General Slocum cautiously reconnoitered with a 
brigade to. the very gates of Atlanta, finding only cavalry outside 
the city's defenses. 

Early on the morning of the 31st General Sherman sent this 
dispatch to Washington : "At this time I would not suggest a 
change in the geographical lines of the Departments of the Ohio 
and the Cumberland because Generals Thomas and Schofield are 
now in actual battle and cannot give their attention to the neces- 
sary details. I will see both of them to-day and will then com- 
municate my opinion. We reached the West Point railroad and 
broke up twelve miles of it thoroughly; then marched on a big 
left wheel for the Macon road, General Schofield on the left, aim- 
ing for Rough and Ready, General Thomas center, and General 
Howard right, aiming for Jonesboro. The left and center as 
yet have met little or no opposition, but General Howard has 
fought two brigades of cavalry all the way from Fairburn. Last 
night darkness overtook him within a mile of Jonesboro, hav- 
ing pushed the cavalry so close that he secured the Flint River 
bridge. To-day I press at all points, but expect to make a lodg- 
ment on the road at or below Jonesboro, when I propose to 
swing the whole army upon it and break it all to pieces. I expect, 
and am prepared for, hard fighting, and have the army well in 
hand." 

In the meantime the Confederates were not inactive. Rey- 
nolds's and Lewis's brigades had been early sent to Jonesboro, and 



558 Atlanta And Its Builders 

General Hardee, with his fine corps at Rough and Ready, was 
ready at a moment's notice to march to the point first threatened. 
General Howell Cobb, at Macon, was telegraphed : "General 
Hood desires the militia to come up. If necessary organized 
troops had better be sent to General Winder." On the 30th, Har- 
dee received orders to move his corps to Jonesboro that night, 
and General Lee was ordered to follow up the movement with his 
corps. Brigadier-General Lewis, at Jonesboro, was ordered to 
co-operate with General Armstrong's cavalry in preventing the 
enemy crossing Flint river before Hardee and Lee could get in 
position at Jonesboro. To Lewis Hood wired on the evening of 
the 30th: "Hold your position at all hazards. Help is ordered 
to you." In the afternoon of that day it seems that Hood was 
not advised fully as to the magnitude of Sherman's movement. 
To General Jackson at Rough and Ready he wired : "General 
Hood does not think there can l>e a large force advancing upon 
Jonesboro. Please ascertain from Armstrong what infantry it 
is, if possible." 

General Howard speaks as follows of the grand flank move- 
ment to Jonesboro : "Sherman now having his supplies well up, 
beginning on the night of the 25th of August, intrenched Slo- 
cum's strong corps across his railroad communication to defend 
it ; then made another grand wheel of his army. Schofield this 
time clung to the pivot. My command described an arc of 25 
miles radius aiming at Jonesboro, while Thomas followed the 
middle course. Both southern railways were to be seized, and 
the station and road destroyed. Preceded by Kilpatrick, we 
made the march rapidly enough, considering the endless plague 
of the enemy's horse artillery supported by Wheeler's cavalry, and 
the time it took us to break up the West Point railroad. At 
Renfro Place we were to encamp on the night of the 30th of 
August. Finding no water there, and also hoping to secure the 
Flint River bridge, six miles ahead, I called to Kilpatrick for a 
squadron. He sent me a most energetic young man, Captain 
Estes, and the horsemen needed. I asked Estes if he could keep 
the enemy in motion. He gave a sanguine reply, and galloped off 
at the head of his men. Wheeler's rear guard was surprised, and 
hurried toward the river. Hazen's infantry followed, forgetting 




Confederate Monument, Oakland Cemetery 



560 Atlanta And Its Builders 

their fatigue in the excitement of pursuit. We reached the bridge 
as it was burning, extinguished the fire, crossed over in the dusk 
of the evening under an increasing fire from hostile cavalry and 
infantry, but did not stop until Logan had reached the wooded 
ridge beyond, near Jonesboro. The command was soon put into 
position and worked all night and during the next morning to 
intrench and build the required bridges. Hood had sent Hardee 
by rail, with perhaps half of his command, to hold Jonesboro. 
My Confederate classmate, S. D. Lee, who had had the immediate 
assault at Ezra Church, here appeared again, commanding Cheat- 
ham's corps." 

Sherman expected to throw his army upon the Macon and 
Western railroad at or near Jonesboro before Hood could reach 
the latter point with a large body of troops. He was aware that 
Hardee was at Rough and Ready, but thought he would be afraid 
to venture further from Atlanta when the entire Federal army was 
aiming at the railroad between Rough and Ready and Jonesboro. 
If heavy battle was to follow, Schofield, who was to strike nearest 
to Rough and Ready, was expecetd to bear the brunt. With this 
idea of the situation, Sherman sent Schofield a message on the 
morning of the 31st, telling him how to handle Hardee. Among 
other things he said : "I do not think the enemy will attack now, 
because Howard is within 200 yards of the railroad at Jonesboro, 
intrenched. He has three bridges and feels strong, but the dark- 
ness of night prevented him reaching the road, but he was to re- 
sume operations at daylight. I have ordered one of Davis's 
divisions down to Renfroe's, and expect to send the whole to 
Howard's flank, but will keep Stanley near him, but will soon 
send him to the right and let you stand the brunt if Hardee comes 
out of Rough and Ready. He has some works about the Mount 
Zion Church, and likely has his corps there. It is not as good as 
yours. I don't wish you to attack it in position, but to hold it, 
and as much more as possible, for the other, which is the real 
attack. After selecting your ground feel the enemy with skir- 
mishers, and if possible you may push in a strong party by 
Thames's Mill, aiming to reach the railroad about two miles 
below Rough and Ready. This can only be done, of course, in 
case of what I want to prevent — Hood fronting Howard with all 



Sherman's Grand Flank Movement 561 

his combined force. Relieve Howard all you can, but prepare to 
take advantage of all successes. I want Garrard's cavalry the 
moment you can spare him, and you can spare him the moment 
you have a good flank." 

But Hardee and Lee had got to Jonesboro. However, Scho- 
field arrived upon the railroad soon enough to cut off some of 
their troops. A long train heavily loaded was turned back to 
Atlanta as his troops took possession of the railroad. Schofield 
informed Sherman of his success as follows : 

"I struck the railroad a mile below Rough and Ready at 3 
o'clock. Have Cox's division in position fortifying and breaking 
track. Stanley is now coming in on my right, and we will soon 
be abundantly strong. The enemy was running cars down with 
troops up to the moment we reached the road. They held a 
pretty good position, well fortified, but we pushed in a strong 
force at once, and drove them out before they had time to rein- 
force very much. The enemy retreated toward Rough and 
Ready." 

At 3 o'clock on the morning of the 31st Howard reported to 
Sherman : "Kilpatrick made an attempt to get upon the railroad, 
but met with so strong a resistance that he gave it up for daylight. 
He says Logan's center is about 800 yards from the depot. The 
town is to our right and the depot in the direct front. The Six- 
teenth Corps is on the west side of the river, and prolonging the 
line of Logan. The Seventeenth Corps did not get up ; is three 
miles back. I intended to place it in position facing north, vir- 
tually prolonging Logan's left ; it will move at daylight in the 
morning. My only exposure is in that direction. If you will 
push hard enough to prevent the enemy from striking me this side 
of Flint River it will be all right ; my officers apprehend it more 
than I do. My information is that the enemy had here four 
brigades of infantry on our arrival, and more are coming. I 
understand your anxiety to get the road ; no exertion will be 
spared as soon as we can see. The Seventeenth Corps will move 
up at daylight." 

Sherman ordered Howard to order Kilpatrick to reach well 
to the right, break the telegraph and take up a few rails, while 
Howard got possession of and fortified some point commanding 

36-1 



562 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the railroad. Sherman said : "We must have that road and it 
is worth to us a heavy battle. ... I will see that you are 
supported either by direct help or by auxiliary attacks above and 
below you ; but understand that my hope of success rests mainly 
with you. I am in the dead certainty of having heavy masses in 
close support, which are soon to be intrenched." 

Howard replied that the enemy's position was such that an 
assault did not promise success. He said that the indications 
were that the Confederates would attack before the day was over, 
and that, in the meantime, he would intrench as strongly as the 
ground would permit. He said he had a position commanding 
the railroad station at Jonesboro, which he would batter down, 
and would make it impossible for the road in range of his guns to 
be used. 

Sherman's reply to Howard is interesting in showing how 
unconscious he was of the near success of his long campaign 
against Atlanta. Atlanta was to be his on the following day, 
and yet he talks about transferring the scene of hostilities to 
Macon. He said : 

"Your dispatch is received. Of course, now an attack by 
you on Jonesboro is out of the question, but you can make that 
position impregnable, and we can operate beyond. Baird is now 
moving toward the road four miles north of you, and SchofieM 
about the mills, which of course is the strongest part of the 
enemy's works. I expect Garrard's cavalry can be relieved of 
guarding Schofield's trains to-day, and I will send it to Kilpatrick 
The enemy is too smart for us, and we may have to maneuver thus 
down to Macon. It may be that some accident will happen, of 
which we can take advantage. Get your guns in position and 
damage trains passing, but it is useless to waste ammunition on 
the depot already reported burned by Kilpatrick. I cannot move 
the troops 100 yards without their stopping to intrench, though 
I have not seen an enemy. I have got Baird across Flint River, 
about due east of this point. Thomas is at Renfroe's, and will 
come to your aid if you need him, but I think you have as many 
men as can operate at that point, and as soon as I can hear from 
Schofield further I will commence to move toward Griffin, the 
next accessible point. I have no idea that Hardee will attack 



Sherman's Grand Flank Movement 563 

you, if you have any cover whatever. Get as many guns in as 
possible, so that by a simultaneous discharge you can knock a 
train to pieces at one discharge. It is only on condition that you 
can get on the road that I would put all of Thomas's troops on 
that side of the Flint." 

To General Thomas Sherman wrote: "Inasmuch as I have 
already given orders to Schofield, based on the idea that he and 
Stanley move down the railroad, breaking it, till they come to 
Baird and Davis, near Jonesboro, I think we had better adhere to 
that plan till we develop the first step in the enemy's game, after 
he knows we are between him and Atlanta. I wish you to order 
Kilpatrick the moment he learns the enemy has gone south to 
hurry to Fayette Station and Griffin, hang on the flanks of the 
enemy while we push him to the rear, I propose to go as far as 
Griffin, utterly destroying the road, and then act according to cir- 
cumstances. I would rather you should follow the enemy as he 
retreats, leaving the Army of the Tennessee to swing by the right, 
and that of the Ohio by the left. I am glad to hear that Baird 
also is on the railroad, and now the sooner we get all our army 
together in close order the better. You may put Davis in on the 
left of Howard, ready for Baird and Stanley to come up along 
the railroad. If Hood remains in Atlanta and Hardee commands 
at Jonesboro the latter may attempt to get back to Atlanta, in 
which event he may to-night run up against Baird, who should be 
put on his guard. You may give all the necessary orders that 
will bring your command together to attack and pursue that part 
of the Confederate army now at Jonesboro by whatever road it 
takes, and I will give directions to the armies to operate on its 
flanks. As soon as it is demonstrated on what road it retreats 
we can arrange to head it off. My own impression is that Har- 
dee will try to join Hood in Atlanta. May send Schofield to- 
night, and I am anxious that Howard should keep in close con- 
tact." 

Stanley's corps encountered strong Confederate intrench- 
ments near Morrow's Mill, but occupied only by dismounted cav- 
alry. After a brisk exchange of volleys, the Federals occupied 
the works and passed on toward the railroad, which they gained 
with no opposition, coming upon it immediately below Schofield. 



564 Atlanta And Its Builders 

General Baird made a strong demonstration against the railroad 
between Stanley's position and Jonesboro. These movements 
threw nearly the whole of Sherman's army between Rough and 
Ready and Jonesboro, dividing Hood with his one corps and the 
state troops from Hardee and Lee. Sherman believed that he 
could keep the two armies of the enemy apart, forcing Hardee and 
Lee to go to Macon, when he could turn upon Hood's attenuated 
lines and force his way into Atlanta. Sherman gave Thomas this 
order respecting the movements of Slocum, holding his base at 
the Chattahoochee bridge : "I wish you would instruct General 
Slocum at the bridge to feel forward to Atlanta, as boldly as he 
can, by the direct road leading from the bridge, and to send any 
cavalry force he can raise over toward Decatur to watch the move- 
ments of the enemy in that quarter. Advise him fully of the situ- 
ation of affairs here, and assure him that we will fully occupy the 
attention of the rebel army outside of Atlanta." 

Sherman was disappointed at Howard's failure to get upon 
the railroad at Jonesboro, and while the latter was momentarily 
expecting to be attacked, determined to assume the aggressive 
against the enemy in every quarter. To Thomas he wrote : "I 
send you for perusal Howard's letter of 3 a. m. He did not get 
the road, though I doubt not he is too close for the comfort of the 
enemy. He must not fail in this. Order one of Davis's divisions 
down at once to Renfroe's, and move all your trains well to your 
right, so that you can rapidly fling your whole command over to 
Jonesboro. Then let Davis send out from his front, obliquely to 
the right front, a strong skirmish line with supports, as though to 
reach the railroad three or four miles above Jonesboro. Have 
Stanley do the same toward, but below Rough and Ready. Im- 
press upon these commanders that it is not so necessary to have 
united lines, but rather columns of attack. We are not on the 
defensive, but offensive, and must risk everything rather than 
dilly-dally about. We must confuse the enemy. As soon as 
Schofield gets up I will put him against Rough and Ready till he 
meets formidable resistance." 

General Hood gives the following description of the situation 
immediately preceding the decisive battle of Jonesboro : "Sher- 
man had now been over one month continuously moving toward 



Sherman s Grand Flank Movement 565 

our left and thoroughly fortifying, step by step, as he advanced in 
the direction of the Macon railroad. On the night of the 25th 
he withdrew from our immediate front; his works, which at an 
early hour the following morning we discovered to be abandoned, 
were occupied at a later hour by the corps of Stewart and Lee. 

"On the 27th General G. W. Smith's division was ordered to 
the left to occupy the position of Stevenson's division which, to- 
gether with Maury's command, was held in reserve. Early the 
following morning the enemy were reported by Armstrong in 
large force at Fairburn, on the West Point road. It became at 
once evident that Sherman was moving with his main body to 
destroy the Macon road, and the fate of Atlanta depended upon 
our ability to defeat this movement. 

"Reynolds's and Lewis's brigades were dispatched to Jones- 
boro to co-operate with Armstrong. General Adams, at Opelika, 
was directed to guard the defenses of that place with renewed 
vigilance, while General Maury was requested to render his assist- 
ance, if necessary. The chief quartermaster, ordnance officer, 
and commissary were given most explicit instructions in regard 
to the disposition of their respective stores. All surplus property, 
supplies, etc., were ordered to the rear, or to be placed on cars in 
readiness to be moved at any moment that the railroad became 
seriously threatened. Armstrong was instructed to establish a 
line of couriers to my headquarters, in order to report every hour, 
if requisite, the movements of the enemy. In fact, every precau- 
tion was taken not only to hold our sole line of communication 
unto the last extremity, but also, in case of failure, to avoid loss 
or destruction of stores and material. 

"On the 29th the Federals marched slowly in the direction 
of Rough and Ready and Jonesboro. A portion of Brown's 
division was directed to take position at the former place and 
fortify thoroughly, in order to afford protection to the road at 
that point. General Hardee, who was at this juncture in the 
vicinity of East Point, was instructed to make such disposition of 
his troops as he considered most favorable for defense; and, in 
addition, to hold his corps in readiness to march at the word of 
command. Jackson and Armstrong received orders to report the 
different positions of the corps of the enemy at dark every night. 



566 Atlanta And Its Builders 

"The morning of the 30th found our general line extended 
farther to the left — Hardee being in the vicinity of Rough and 
Ready, with Lee's corps on his right, near East Point. Informa* 
tion from our cavalry clearly indicated that the enemy would 
strike our road at Jonesboro. After consultation with the corps 
commanders, I determined upon the following operations as the 
last hope of holding on to Atlanta. 

"A Federal corps crossed Flint river, at about 6 p. m., near 
Jonesboro, and made an attack upon Lewis's brigade, which was 
gallantly repulsed. This action became the signal for battle. 
General Hardee was instructed to move rapidly with his troops 
to Jonesboro, whither Lieutenant-General Lee, with his corps, was 
ordered to follow during the night. Hardee was to attack with 
the whole force early on the morning of the 31st, and drive the 
enemy, at all hazards, into the river in their rear. In the event 
of success, Lee and his command were to be withdrawn that night 
back to Rough and Ready ; Stewart's corps, together with Major- 
General George W. Smith's state troops, were to form a line of 
battle on Lee's right, near East Point, and the whole force move 
forward the following morning, attacking the enemy in flank, and 
drive him down Flint river and the West Point railroad. In the 
meantime, the cavalry was to hold in check the corps of the enemy 
stationed at the railroad bridge across the Chattahoochee, near 
the mouth of Peachtree Creek, whilst Hardee advanced from his 
position near Jonesboro, or directly on Lee's left. 

"Such were the explicit instructions delivered. I impressed 
upon General Hardee that the fate of Atlanta rested upon his 
ability, with the aid of two corps, to drive the Federals across 
Flint river, at Jonesboro. I also instructed him, in the event of 
failure — which would necessitate the evacuation of the city — to 
send Lee's corps, at dark, back to or near Rough and Ready, in 
order to protect our retreat to Lovejoy Station." 

The following dispatches sent by Hood to Hardee just before 
the battle of Jonesboro show his deep anxiety in this critical mo- 
ment when the fate of Atlanta hung trembling in the balance : 

August 31, 3 a. m. — "Have dispatch from Pickett. He says 
Cleburne and Brown are within three miles of Jonesboro. Have 
directed him to push them forward. As soon as you can get your 



Sherman's Grand Flank Movement 567 

troops in position, the general says you must attack and drive the 
enemy across the river." 



3.10 a. m. — "You must not fail to attack the enemy so soon 
as you can get your troops up. I trust that God will give us the 
victory." 



3.20 a. m. — "General Hood desires you to say to your officers 
and men that the necessity is imperative. The enemy must be 
driven into and across the river." 



10 a. m. — "General Hood desires the men to go at the enemy 
with fixed bayonets, determined to drive everything they may 
come against." 



12.15 P- m - — "General Morgan reports enemy in strong force 
advancing against Clinch at Mount Gilead Church." 



2 p. m. — "General Morgan says enemy drove Clinch from 
breastworks at Mount Gilead church about 1 1 a. m. ; were in con- 
siderable force. This sent you to show that enemy have not all 
his troops in your front." 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

BATTLE OF JONESBORO 

The battle of Jonesboro was very similar to the other battles 
around Atlanta. It consisted of fierce charges on the part of the 
Confederates, Hood believing that by aggressive action at the op- 
portune moment he could drive the Federals back upon Flint 
river, and while Howard's army was in rout, hurl the remainder 
of his regulars in Atlanta around Schofield's flank, compassing 
the enemy's complete overthrow in much the manner that John- 
ston planned to destroy Sherman's army in the angle of Peach- 
tree Creek. The plan was put into attempted execution too late. 
There is reason to believe that Hood was not sufficiently advised 
as to the movements of Sherman on the 29th and 30th of Au- 
gust. From his dispatches, and above that, from the movement 
of his troops, he seems to have not understood that the last grand 
movement of the enemy had as its object the complete severance 
of his railroad communication. When the truth dawned upon 
him, it was beyond his power to interpose his troops effectively 
betwen Sherman and the Macon road. The vital point was not 
Jonesboro alone. Two-thirds or more of his army was hurried 
to the latter place at the last moment, while the long line of rail- 
road between there and Rough and Ready was equally exposed — 
indeed, in more imminent danger. When Schofield and Thomas 
swarmed down upon the railroad north of Jonesboro, they were 
surprised to meet with almost no resistance. Had Hardee and 
Lee succeeded in keeping Howard off the railroad at Jonesboro, 
the result would not have been altered. Two-thirds of the Fed- 
eral army was already in possession of the Macon road several 
miles nearer Atlanta than jonesboro, and in a position to hold 
what it had gained. The battle of Jonesboro, therefore, was a 
useless and illogical battle, because fought too late and without 

568 



Battle of Jonesboro 569 

the necessary connecting- strength being retained with Atlanta. 
Atlanta would have been lost if Howard had been whipped at 
Jonesboro, or if no battle had been fought at Jonesboro. 

It seems to have been reserved for General Logan to fight 
and win three of the four great battles around Atlanta. In the 
battle of Atlanta on the bloody 22d of July his splendid general- 
ship went far toward saving the day to the Federals ; at Ezra 
Church his corps bore the brunt of the most terrific charges of 
which the flower of the Confederate army was capable, and at 
Jonesboro he practically fought the whole battle on the part of 
the Federals. The fighting at Jonesboro extended through a part 
of two days — the 31st of August and the 1st of September — the 
second day's fighting on the part of the Federals being largely 
done by the Fourteenth Army Corps, commanded by Brevet Ma- 
jor-General Jeff. C. Davis, 

A more comprehensive and accurate description of this bat- 
tle cannot be given than to quote from the reports of the leading 
officers engaged on both sides. General Hardee's report, which 
deals largely with the bitter controversy between himself and 
General Hood, which culminated at the battle of Jonesboro, will 
be found in the chapter at the close of this volume containing the 
most important general reports. The report of General Howard, 
who commanded the portion of the Federal army engaged at 
Jonesboro, is in part as follows : 

"I had really expected an attack all day (31st) on account 
of the saucy position we occupied, since our artillery, and even 
musketry, reached the enemy's principal line of communication. 
I was not, therefore, at all surprised when, about 3 p. m., a heavy 
assault was made, extending all along the Fifteenth corps, and 
one division of the Sixteenth. 

"In the morning, before the action, I directed General Blair 
to send a brigade to General Logan's left. Colonel Bryant, of 
General Woods's division, was promptly sent. Fearing lest the 
enemy should turn that flank between Hazen's left and the river, 
I directed General Blair to send the rest of Woods's division the 
moment the action opened. This he did, with instructions to hold 
his command well in hand, and charge the enemy if he attempted 
such a movement. The enemy made two or three assaults in all, 



57° Atlanta And Its Builders 

but neither approaching" so near nor exhibiting so much spirit as 
the battle of the 28th of July. 

"General Logan estimates in front of his corps 500 killed, 
and not less than 5,000 wounded, and 241 prisoners. His own 
loss was 154 killed, wounded, and missing. General Ransom re- 
ports 57 dead and 92 prisoners taken in front of General Corse's 
division, estimating enemy's loss at 500 killed, wounded, and 
missing. His corps suffered the incredibly small loss of 18 killed 
and wounded. Colonel Bryant, of General Blair's corps, reports 
the enemy's loss in his front 262 killed, wounded, and prisoners. 
The latter number may be included in General Logan's estimate, 
as this brigade fought in conjunction with the troops on Hazen's 
left. I believe the enemy's loss in this battle of the 31st, in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners, will not vary far from 6,000. General 
Woods, Seventeenth Corps, and Generals Corse and Fuller, Six- 
teenth Corps, receive high commendation from their corps com- 
manders for gallantry in this action. 

"By reference to the report of General Kilpatrick, it will be 
seen that his force on the morning of the 31st moved to An- 
thony's Bridge, a mile and a half below my position. He crossed 
the river, constructing a bridge, pushed a small force to the rail- 
road, and took up a threatening position. The enemy doubtless 
fearing an attempt to turn his left flank in force, attacked Kil- 
patrick with infantry. After stout resistance he withdrew to the 
western bank, and the enemy followed him up, crossing with a 
part of his force. As soon as I got news of this, about the mid- 
dle of the afternoon, General Blair moved by my direction a di- 
vision. General G. A. Smith's, to the right of General Ransom, 
prolonging his line and covering the wagon train. General Car- 
lin's division, of the Fourteenth Army Corps, also moved to the 
vicinity of that flank. The enemy was, however, too much crip- 
pled to attempt any further offensive movement. The force of 
the enemy opposed to us, judging from the prisoners taken, were 
the corps of Hardee and S. D. Lee, under command of General 
Hardee. While these events were transpiring at Jonesborough, 
Major-Generals Thomas and Schofield had struck the railroad at 
several points intervening between me and Atlanta. 

"The work for the next dav was for me to hold where I was, 




Ph 



572 Atlanta And Its Builders 

while the rest of the military division concentrated upon my left, 
the troops on the railroad destroying it completely en route. 

"On the afternoon of September i, in accordance with in- 
structions, my command made frequent and strong demonstra- 
tions to prevent the enemy from reinforcing against General 
Thomas, whilst one of his corps (Fourteenth. Major-General 
Davis commanding) made its remarkable and gallant charge be- 
tween Hazen's left and the railroad. My left corps, General 
Blair's, being relieved by this movement, was dispatched to An- 
thony's Bridge with instructions to do what he could to worry the 
enemy from that flank. I sent Lieutenant Hall, of the cavalry, to 
guide the column, believing that he knew the shortest route, but 
he took it by a more circuitous route, and consumed all the time 
from 3 p. m. till dark in reaching the bridge, so that General 
Blair simply effected a crossing of the Flint River, skirmishing 
heavily with the enemy. That night the rebels withdrew from 
Jonesboro, as also the remaining garrison from Atlanta." 

General Logan's report is more detailed and graphic. He 
says : 

"Our position being isolated from the main army, and threat- 
ening the enemy's communication, we were exposed greatly, and 
liable to attack at any moment. Considering these facts, I caused 
my lines to be intrenched with great care, under the supervision 
of Captain Klostermann, who is one of the most thorough engi- 
neer officers I have met in the service. The positions obtained 
for all the batteries of the corps were the best that could have 
been selected, and division commanders were very active in their 
efforts to establish their lines with a view to hold them at all 
hazards, and inflicting the severest punishment on the enemy 
should they attack us. At about 3 p. m. August 31st the enemy 
opened artillery in front of my entire line, keeping up continual 
fire for about fifteen minutes, when they uncovered their lines and 
made a sudden and desperate assault on all parts of my line, ap- 
proaching at points on the left of General Hazen's line (which 
was the left of my position) within thirty paces. The most de- 
termined part of the assault was maintained by General Hazen, 
the enemy, perhaps, thinking if they could create confusion at 
that point they would compel my whole line to retire beyond the 



Battle of Joncsboro ^/^ 

river. The assault raged severely in front of Harrow and Oster- 
haus, the enemy approaching their lines at the average distance 
of 50 and 100 paces. The artillery firing of the enemy had pre- 
pared my troops for what followed, and when the assault com- 
menced every man was in the trenches and ready for the fray. 
The most terrible and destructive fire I ever witnessed was di- 
rected at the enemy, and in less than one hour he was compelled 
to retire discomfited and in confusion. The rebel general, Pat- 
ton Anderson, and his staff, rode fearlessly along his lines in front 
of the Second Division, and did all that a commander could do 
to make the assault a success. But few of those who rode with 
him in that perilous performance of duty returned from the field. 
Himself, with many of his staff, were seen to fall by the unerring 
and steady fire of my troops. Prisoners, captured subsequently, 
state that General Anderson was shot through the abdomen and 
carried off the field by his troops. I could not help but admire 
his gallantry, though an enemy. The enemy made two more as- 
saults, but evidently with far less spirit and determination than 
the first. The withering and destructive fire which they had re- 
ceived in the first onset had dampened their zeal, and destroyed 
their confidence in being able to defeat us, and they were, conse- 
quently, easily repulsed, though not without severe punishment 
being inflicted on them. 

"The enemy's loss was greater than in any former engage- 
ment, except on the 28th day of July, near Atlanta. In front of 
the Second Division 186 bodies of the enemy were buried be- 
tween our picket-lines. General Hazen captured 99 prisoners, not 
including 79 wounded, and captured 2 stands of colors. General 
Hazen estimated their wounded at 1,000, though subsequent facts 
ascertained places it beyond even that. General Harrow reports 
56 prisoners captured, not including 60 wounded, and the burial 
of 12 dead bodies. General Osterhaus estimates their loss in his 
front at from 400 to 500. 

"After the enemy had evacuated on the night of the 1st, a 
staff officer of General Osterhaus discovered, immediately in rear 
of the point where the most desperate fighting occurred in his 
front, the graves of 131 bodies, which bore evidence of quite re- 
cent interment, and who had evidently been buried with the view 



574 Atlanta And Its Builders 

to our not discovering them. From the reports of division com- 
manders I do not hesitate to place their loss at 500 killed and 
from 3.000 to 5.000 wounded, with a loss of 241 prisoners, not 
including" the wounded who fell into our hands. This engage- 
ment virtually gave us possession of the railroad at Jonesborough, 
for it established the fact that our position, within half a mile of 
the depot and the town, was secure against successful assault. 
After nightfall the enemy remained quiet. My loss in this en- 
gagement was only 154 killed, wounded, and missing. 

"The enemy's force in the assault was ascertained from pris- 
oners captured to be the corps of Hardee and Lee. 

"On the 1st of September the Fourteenth Corps being ordered 
to take position on my left, I was directed to make a demonstra- 
tion in its favor. I accordingly, at the appointed time, caused 
all my artillery to open on the intrenched position of the enemy, 
and made feints at different points on my line as if I intended to 
assault them in their works. These feints, I think, resulted satis- 
factorily, as it kept their trenches full in my front, while the 
Fourteenth Corps charged the enemy on my left. These demon- 
strations often, through the day, resulted in slight actions, which 
in every instance resulted in our favor. On the night of the 1st 
of September the enemy evacuated their position. At daydawn 
on the morning of the 2d, such had been their watchfulness, the 
pickets were in the town and skirmishing with those of the enemy 
just moving out. A great many stragglers from the enemy were 
picked up and sent to our rear." 

Major- General Osterhaus, who held a position in Logan's 
line where the assault of the Confederates was most severe, says 
of the experience of his command : "The infantry, however, had 
not as yet completed their intrenchments, and at 2.30 p. m. there 
was still a considerable gap in the work connecting them with 
the refused line on the right. While I was still engaged in push- 
ing forward this part of the work, considerable movement was 
observed on the rebel side. Colonel Wangelin, commanding 
Third Brigade, reported that very heavy columns of rebel infan- 
try had sallied from their left and advanced in double-quick 
around our line of skirmishers, evidently with the intention of 
passing to our right and rear. The rebels had to pass over an 



Battle of Jonesboro 575 

open field to the right of Colonel Wangelin's front, and this gal- 
lant officer opened a most withering fire on them, but was unable 
to prevent their flanking maneuver. Lieutenant Hang's shells 
exploded with terrible precision among the enemy, but with no 
better success. Regardless of this destructive fire, the enemy's 
columns rushed forward, and I, of course, directed Lieutenant 
Haug to withdraw his pieces, while Captain Bowman and Lieu- 
tenant Eicks were ordered to hold their position at all hazards 
until the guns were withdrawn. These two officers gallantly held 
their position while Lieutenant Haug removed his section with 
admirable precision ; when I brought this party back into our 
main work, the rebel avalanche was at our very heels. I placed 
Lieutenant Haug's section of artillery and the supporting infan- 
try, under Captain Bowman and Lieutenant Eicks, in position on 
the left of the rifle-pits occupied by the Sixteenth Army Corps 
and Lieutenant Hust's pieces. They all opened at once a most 
deadly fire on the rebels (the artillery with canister), whose front 
line was now within 100 yards of ours; at the same time the 
troops of Coloned Williamson's brigade, who formed the connec- 
tion with the refused line, poured their fire into the assaulting col- 
umn. Here I cannot omit to mention the splendid conduct of the 
officers and men of the Fourth Iowa Infantry, who were ordered 
to occupy that portion of this connecting line where as yet no 
breastworks had been thrown up ; they whirled in and held the 
place most gallantly. The effect of our fire was immediate and 
terrible ; the enemy's line, compact until now, broke and dispersed 
in all directions. A number came over into our lines ; the masses, 
however, fell back into the timber on their right and rear to find 
protection from our fire. The enemy formed again several times 
under cover of this timber, and attacked again, though very 
feebly, showing their first repulse to have been a very severe and 
decided one." 

The fighting on the 1st of September was very severe, this 
time the Union forces assuming the offensive. While Logan was 
making strong demonstrations along his entire line for the pur- 
pose of holding Hardee in position, General Davis, command- 
ing the Fourteenth corps, advanced to Howard's assistance, by 
Sherman's order. He advanced straight upon the enemy's 



5/o Atlanta And Its Builders 

works, which were carried after a stout resistance. General 
Davis says of his assault, which along portions of his line was a 
fierce bayonet charge : "From information believed to be reli- 
able, I was satisfied the enemy's work's had not been extended to 
the railroad at a late hour in the forenoon, and that a well-di- 
rected attack would rout this part of his lines and turn his posi- 
tion completely. Morgan's division, and the two brigades of Car- 
lin's, were to form the attacking forces, and were deployed in two 
lines as near continuous to each other as the rough and difficult 
ground over which the advance had to be made would permit. 
One brigade, of Baird's division, was deployed in rear of Carlin's 
left, in close support. The distance to lie passed in front of Mor- 
gan's, where the enemy's works could be seen, was about 1,000 
yards. Where the enemy might be found in Carlin's front, ow- 
ing to the dense thicket before him, could not be determined with- 
out aii advance, which I ordered about 4 p. m. The troops moved 
promptly, but owing* to the thick undergrowth of brush in Car- 
lin's front, swampy ground and ditches in Morgan's, the troops 
necessarily moved slow, and with great difficulty observed align- 
ments and direction. These obstacles were as speedily overcome 
as could be expected, and the whole line advanced to the slope 
of the hill, in the open field, within from 300 to 400 yards of the 
enemy's position. Here the ground offered some protection to the 
troops, and a momentary halt was made, and the lines rectified. 
Up to this point the effect of the enemy's fire had been but lightly 
felt, generally along the line, except by Edie's brigade, which was 
some distance in advance of the general line, and had struck a 
projecting flank of the enemy's works, charged, and carried it, 
with considerable loss. The position thus gallantly gained was 
only partially held, owing to the impossibility of supports get- 
ting up in time. Este's brigade, of Baird's division, w r as ordered 
to report to General Carlin as a support to this part of the line, 
and was promptly placed in position so as to relieve this brigade 
in the following attack. The other two brigades of Baird's di- 
vision were held close in reserve in rear of the left of the corps, 
with a view to pushing our success on this flank after the position 
had been carried. At a quarter to 5 o'clock I ordered the lines, 
as now formed and represented by the accompanying map, to ad- 



Battle of Jonesboro 577 

vance and attack. The desultory fire which had been kept up by 
the enemy during the temporary pause in the advance, did but 
little damage, but served to locate the enemy's lines more defi- 
nitely, which, owing to the dense thicket intervening, could not 
be well defined. The attack was promptly and vigorously made 
along the whole line. The enemy, self-confident and exultant at 
our audacity in attacking lines thus defended, made a most deter- 
mined resistance. The fight was short and bloody. The entire 
line of works was carried, except the extreme left, formed of 
Moore's brigade. Here from natural obstructions, heavy timber, 
and underbrush, as well as a severe fire from the left, coming from 
the opposite side of the railroad, this brigade operated under great 
disadvantage, and was for awhile held in check, notwithstanding 
the troops fought with great gallantry and were well handled. 
Elsewhere, at all points, the assault was decisive and complete 
along the entire line. Eight hundred and sixty-five officers and 
men surrendered themselves in the works. About 1,000 more 
were captured, or surrendered themselves to different commands 
during the night and the following day, which should be credited 
to the assault, as a result of it. Two field batteries, consisting of 
four guns each, were captured complete. The troops charged 
these batteries, under a murderous fire of canister, and took them 
in the works. Seven battle-flags and 14 officers' swords were cap- 
tured, and have been forwarded, as required by existing orders, 
to department headquarters." 

Brigadier-General Carlin says of the operations of his com- 
mand at Jonesboro : "On the 1st day of September I received or- 
ders to move to the support of General Baird and take position on 
his right, which was then on the Atlanta and Jonesborough road, 
east of Mrs. Evans's. Before going into position there I received 
orders to proceed about two and a half miles toward Jonesbor- 
ough, and take a position facing the town. Having marched till 
within two miles of that place and reached the pickets of the Sev- 
enteenth Corps, I took position parallel to the road and facing the 
Macon railroad, one and a half miles distant. I have omitted to 
state above that the First Brigade and Nineteenth Indiana Battery 
were detached at Mrs. Evans's and sent to Renfroe's to protect 
the train of the army in accordance with orders received. From 

37-i 



578 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the point designated above I sent the Third Brigade on a recon- 
naissance toward the railroad, with also one regiment of the Sec- 
ond Brigade as skirmishers. The skirmishers of both brigades 
soon encountered the enemy at a creek near the road and drove 
them back to a strong position, where they contested the ground 
obstinately with infantry or dismounted cavalry and one or two 
pieces of artillery. The position of the enemy was soon taken 
by the Third Brigade and the Sixteenth U. S. Infantry, and one 
caisson, filled with ammunition, captured. The Second Brigade 
was immediately moved up to the right of the Third and the skir- 
mishers pushed onto the railroad. While here Captain Edmonds, 
of my staff, pointed out a very fine position for a battery, and I 
immediately ordered Prescott's battery to take position there. 
Prescott moved to it as rapidly as his horses could go, unlimbered, 
and opened his guns, which created great havoc among the rebels. 
It may here be stated that much of the success later in the day was 
due to the execution of this battery, both on the infantry and ar- 
tillery of the rebels, as Prescott was almost immediately on the 
right flank of the enemy facing Morgan's division, of the Four- 
teenth Corps, and of the Army of the Tennessee. While occupy- 
ing the position last described I sent out a regiment on the 
front to open communication with the Fourth Corps, which was 
accomplished by Lieutenant-Colonel McMahon, commanding the 
Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. I then changed the front 
of my division again to the right, the left of the Third Brigade 
resting on the railroad, and formed line of battle, when I received 
orders from General Davis to move forward toward Jonesbor- 
ough till I should find the works of the enemy. Moving through 
a dense forest to an open field the enemy was encountered in a 
thicket beyond. I ordered an assault, which was made with great 
energy and gallantry by both brigades. The Second Brigade 
reached the works at the first dash and captured many prisoners. 
They would have held the works and gone on but for the unfor- 
tunate loss of Capt. L. M. Kellogg, commanding the Eighteenth 
U. S. Infantry, who was on the extreme right. He was badly 
wounded while crossing the works. The enemy brought up re- 
inforcements and compelled the right to fall back about ioo yards. 
A portion of this brigade gallantly clung to the works till over- 



Battle of Joncsboro 579 

powered and captured. When preparing to re-form the Second 
Brigade for another charge, I received information from General 
Davis that he had ordered Colonel Este's brigade, of Baird's di- 
vision, to support me. As it was fresh and well formed I placed 
it in position for a charge, when General Baird arrived and gal- 
lantly led it himself. Tt is an agreeable duty that I perform in say- 
ing that the conduct of this brigade was truly admirable, and that 
they deserved the success they achieved. Colonel Este deserves 
promotion for his gallantry and good management. The Third 
Brigade continued the fight till every rebel was driven or dragged 
from the works. The Thirty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Griffin commanding, deserves great credit in 
this part of the fight, as they had to contend almost alone against 
a very obstinate foe strongly intrenched. The enemy having lost 
his works, brought infantry and artillery on the road still farther 
toward Jonesborough, and opened so heavy a fire that no farther 
advance could be made. Darkness closed the fight. The two 
brigades captured about 300 prisoners and many small-arms. The 
Second Brigade lost in killed, wounded, and missing, 168; the 
Third Brigade, killed, wounded, and missing, 203; total, 371." 

General Baird, who took an important part in the attack, 
makes the following interesting report : "The order to move for- 
ward was given at 4.45 p. m., when the lines moved off hand- 
somely. Attended by a single staff officer, Captain Acheson, 
assistant adjutant-general, and two orderlies, I accompanied 
Colonel Este, so as to be ready to give him any assistance which 
he might require. Our men passing over the lines of the regu- 
lar brigade soon reached the crest in front, and at about 100 
yards from the works began to receive a murderous fire of mus- 
ketry and canister. They were immediately put at the charge, 
and without faltering the whole line moved splendidly into the 
woods. On the right the success was immediate and complete. 
The Tenth Kentucky, followed by the Seventy-fourth Indiana, 
struck upon the short projecting point of rifle-pit called the first 
line, and carried it, as well as the main line, extending thence to 
the right. A single dash, after entering the woods, gave them 
the victory. The rebel troops, confident in themselves and in 
their ability to hold their works, were totally unprepared for a 



580 Atlanta And Its Builders 

charge of this kind, and were taken completely by surprise. 
They delivered a single volley, and before they could reload 
found our men in the trenches with them, bayoneting all who did 
not surrender. 

"Three companies on the right of the Seventy-fourth In- 
diana, which overlapped the Tenth Kentucky, obliquing to the 
right, entered the woods at the east end of the battery of four 
guns on the angle, and driving the enemy out took possession of 
the guns. They belonged to a battery of the consolidated 
Eighth and Nineteenth Arkansas Regiments, and Lieutenant 
Kuder, of the Seventy-fourth Regiment Indiana Volunteers, 
capturing the battery flag, brought it away with him. After 
holding this battery for some minutes, until the troops of the 
next brigade on the right came up in the rear and entered it, 
these companies closed to the left on their own regiment, leaving 
the guns with the newcomers. As the only material evidence 
of the capture brought away was the flag, the guns themselves 
being left with the Second Division, Colonel Este has procured 
statements from several of his officers and men who were pres- 
ent, and forwards them with his report. On the left our men 
were not immediately so successful. The Thirty-eighth and 
Fourteenth Ohio Regiments, after entering the woods, formed 
a line extending from the short projecting work to the left, but 
the distance to the rebel main work being greater than on the 
right, and the approach to it more obstructed by fallen trees, 
they could not at once reach it. They remained in this posi- 
tion, subjected to a most terrible fire coming obliquely down the 
works from the rebel right, for some minutes after the right 
wing had achieved its success. Colonel Este, who was at this 
point of the line, finding that the troops on our left did not or 
could not move forward with us as we had been led to expect that 
they would, began to fear that his men could not hold on where 
they were, and sent for reinforcements. Seeing at the same time 
a regiment of Brigadier-General Morgan's left brigade, the Sev- 
enteenth New York, marching up to go into place in rear of our 
right, where it was no longer needed, Colonel Este appealed to 
the commanding officer, requesting him to put in his regiment on 
our left where it could be most useful, and guided him to the 



Battle of Jonesboro 581 

place. The fire of the enemy at this point was most destructive, 
yet the gallant Colonel [Grower] carried his regiment into posi- 
tion with a heroic bravery challenging the highest admiration, 
and was himself almost the first to fall before it. The regiment 
seeing this, for a moment faltered, but was at once reassured, 
and the order to charge being given, rushed forward along with 
the Fourteenth and Thirty-eighth Ohio, and captured not only 
the works, but nearly all in them. This ended the battle, as all 
that followed was desultory firing or shots from distant artil- 
lery. This charge of my Third Brigade — one of the most mag- 
nificent on record, and the first during this campaign in which 
works upon either side have been assaulted and carried — was 
productive of the greatest results in opening the way for the ad- 
vance of the troops on our right and left, and destroying the 
morale of the boldest and most confident troops in the rebel 
army. The losses sustained attest the severity of the struggle. 
Out of 1,100 officers and men who went into the action 75 were 
killed and 255 wounded; nearly 1 out of every 3 being hit, and 
all in a space of thirty minutes' time." 

General Morgan refers to the part taken by his troops in 
the fight of September 1st as follows: "General Carlin having 
moved his command to his left, opened a large gap between his 
right and my left. The First Brigade (Colonel Lum) was or- 
dered to move immediately from its reserved position to the left 
and front. This brigade was formed upon the left of Colonel 
Mitchell in two lines. Having very bad ground to move over was 
hardly in position before the advance of the whole line was or- 
dered forward. Silently and steadily the line moved up the 
ridge, and disappeared in the woods, under cover of which the 
rebels had constructed their works, and in a few moments a shout 
was heard that told of victory and success, which was soon made 
certain by hundreds of rebels coining from the woods and seek- 
ing safety by retreating to the rear. The charge was gallantly 
and successfully made, and the results commensurate — 2 4-gun 
batteries taken (1 by the First and 1 by the Second Brigade), 
394 prisoners ( 1 brigadier-general and 24 commissioned offi- 
cers), over 1,000 stands small-arms, and 6 battle-flags. Never 
was a command better entitled to the thanks of its officers and 



582 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the nation. Men who can steadily move upon strong works, 
covered with acknowledged fighting men (infantry and artil- 
lery), and carry them are truly soldiers. I am under obliga- 
tions to brigade commanders for the manner their commands 
were moved upon the enemy's lines and the tenacity with which 
they were held and pursuit made until darkness ended the con- 
flict. My right was heavily pressed for two or three hours, but 
finally succeeded in clearing its front. My picket-line was soon 
established, and by daylight had advanced to Jonesborough. 
My loss whs heavy in officers and men ; over 500 killed and 
wounded." 

Lieutenant-General Lee's report of the operations of his 
corps at Jonesboro is as follows: "My corps was formed al- 
most parallel to the railroad and immediately to the right of 
Jonesboro, connecting with the right of Hardee's corps, 
which extended toward Flint River, and making almost a right 
angle with the railroad. It was found that Hardee's corps did 
not cover as much ground as was expected, and I was instructed 
to extend my troops so as to fill up the interval, and my com- 
mand was moved almost two divisions front to the left. The 
instructions given me were to attack as soon as Cleburne, who 
commanded Hardee's corps, should become hotly engaged, he 
being ordered to swing to his right and my corps to advance di- 
rectly against the enemy, and, if possible, swing to the left. The 
firing to my left (on Cleburne's line) did not indicate a serious 
engagement until the right division of Hardee's corps became 
engaged. Being satisfied that the battle had commenced in 
earnest, I at once gave orders for my corps to move against the 
enemy. The attack was not made by the troops with that spirit 
and inflexible determination that would insure success. Several 
brigades behaved with great gallantry, and in each brigade many 
instances of gallant conduct were exhibited by regiments and in- 
dividuals; but generally the troops halted in the charge when 
they were much exposed, and within easy range of the enemy's 
musketry, and when they could do but little damage to the enemy 
behind his works, instead of moving directly and promptly for- 
ward against the temporary and informidable works in their 
front. The attack was a feeble one and a failure, with a loss 



Battle of Jonesboro 583 

to my corps of about 1,300 men in killed and wounded. The 
enemy being behind works, and apparently no impression hav- 
ing been made upon him by the attack on my left, where his line 
was supposed to be weakest, and Brigadier-General Ross, com- 
manding a cavalry brigade on my immediate right, having re- 
ported the enemy moving to my right, I was induced not to re- 
new the attack. 

"During the night of the 31st, about 1 p. m., I received an 
order from Lieutenant-General Hardee to march at once to At- 
lanta. My corps was at once put in motion, and was halted 
by Maj.-Gen. M. L. Smith, chief engineer of the army, about six 
miles from Atlanta, and there put in position to cover the evacu- 
ation of the city." 

Major-General Patton Anderson, commanding Hindman's 
old division, gives the following account of his part in the battle : 
"At about 2.20 p. m. the quick and heavy rattle of musketry on 
Cleburne's line, mingled with the rapid discharges of artillery in 
the same direction, indicated the time appointed for our advance. 
The order was given and the troops moved forward deliberately 
and with resolution. The enemy's line of skirmishers was 
pushed back upon his main line at the top of the ridge before 
alluded to, and our first line was soon under a heavy fire from his 
breastworks. There was but little cover for our assaulting lines, 
and the ascent in some places was moderately steep, but not rug- 
ged, affording the enemy great advantages in the ground in addi- 
tion to those derived from his breastworks. The troops, 
however, moved forward with a spirit and determina- 
tion that threatened, in spite of all odds, to crown the 
hill and drive the enemy from his place. Slowly but 
resolutely they advanced up the ascent to within pistol-shot of 
the enemy's works. At this point under a deadly fire a few 
wavered and the rest lay down. The line was unbroken, and 
although the position was a trying one, every inch of ground 
gained was resolutely maintained. A staff officer was sent to 
request the reserve line to be pushed forward without delay. 
After waiting some time for the reserves to come up — perhaps 
not so long as it appeared to those exposed to this deadly fire at 
such close range — another staff officer was sent back with an 



584 Atlanta And Its Builders 

urgent appeal for them to be brought up immediately. In the 
meantime both men and officers in the front line were suffering 
severely. Each moment brought death and wounds into their 
ranks. On every part of the line officers were constantly fall- 
ing while engaged in encouraging and urging the men to remain 
firm until assistance should arrive, and by their conduct setting 
examples of heroism and courage seldom equaled and still more 
rarely surpassed. The second line came up in rear of Deas and 
Brantly, but the ranks of the latter had been so thinned by the 
fire to which they had been exposed that the two lines combined 
were unable to make any farther advance. Unwilling to aban- 
don the attack while a reasonable hope of success remained, and 
believing that with the assistance of a couple of good brigades 
the enemy's left could be forced back, a staff officer was sent to 
General Lee to ascertain if the necessary assistance could be 
spared from other portions of the field. In the meantime every 
effort was made to hold the ground already gained. Stragglers 
were pushed up to the front and the slightly wounded were en- 
couraged to remain there. While engaged in these efforts a 
color-bearer was discovered some short distance behind the front 
line, with a number of men scattered about through the pines 
near him. On inquiry he reported himself as color-bearer of 
the Thirteenth Louisiana Regiment, and stated that he had tried 
to get the men to follow him to the front, but could not prevail 
on them to do so. The officers of the regiment were then called 
for, but none responded. The color-bearer expressed great de- 
sire to carry the colors forward, and upon my directing him to 
do so, he did advance them gallantly, calling upon his comrades 
to follow. I regret to say that but few responded. When the 
conduct of officers or troops justifies it, I deem it to be a duty no 
less imperative to censure than to praise, and it is under a sense 
of this duty that I relate this circumstance. I would not be 
understood as imputing reprehensible conduct to the whole regi- 
ment, whose color-bearer I have allluded to, for I know that on 
other fields that regiment has acquitted itself with the highest 
honors, but I do say that if the men in question did belong to the 
Thirteenth Louisiana Regiment, as represented to me, they are 
unworthy comrades of a gallant color-bearer, and that they re- 



Battle of Jonesboro 585 

fleet discredit upon a gallant regiment from as gallant a State as 
shines in the Southern constellation. 

"Regarding the extreme right of my line as in great dan- 
ger, and desiring to hold our position there until assistance 
might arrive, I now proceeded along the line from Brandy's 
right toward Sharp's position. At this time the troops of the 
front line were lying down within sixty yards of the enemy's 
hreast-works, and at many points much nearer, keeping up a hot 
fire upon everything that appeared above the defenses. From 
these defenses the enemy, too, poured an unremitting fire upon 
the assailants. Though at a distance from them, Sharp's gal- 
lant Mississippians could be seen pushing their way in small par- 
ties up to the very slope of the enemy's breast-works. Officers 
could be plainly observed encouraging the men to this work. 
One on horseback, whom I took to be General Sharp, was par- 
ticularly conspicuous. After having ridden along the line from 
Brantly's right, urging the officers and men to stand a little 
longer, when I had reached a point near Sharp's left I received 
a wound, which compelled me to leave the field, and which has 
resulted in my absence up to the present time. This occurred 
about 4.30 p. m." 

General Gibson, commanding a brigade of Clayton's divi- 
sion which was heavily engaged, reports : "I supported Brig- 
adier-General Deas's brigade, and in the charge followed his line 
at the distance of forty yards. His line struck the enemy's 
works and recoiled. My line moved forward with great enthu- 
siasm and went beyond the fence into the thicket in which the 
enemy's rifle-pits were, when a few men, halting at the fence and 
lodging in the skirmish pits, began to fire, and soon the whole 
line fired, halted, and finally gave way. A few of the men got 
to the breast-works of the enemy and some inside of them, 
where they found the enemy being reinforced while their own 
commands were retiring, and they had consequently to abandon 
the posts they had won. I never saw a more gallant charge, or 
one that so fully promised success. The officers and men all be- 
haved with great intrepidity in charging through an open field 
under a very heavy and well-directed fire. ' I can only account 
for the failure to take the position held by the enemy by the halt- 



Battle of Jonesboro 587 

ing to destroy the fence [and] by the obstacles encountered in 
the dense growth of small trees causing a few to fire and break- 
ing up the impetus with which they had been hurled upon the 
charge, and which should have carried them over the works. It 
is true the loss had been heavy in passing the open field, and the 
line had on this account grown thin, and there were no supports. 
T re-formed a portion of the brigade near the enemy, but finally 
drew up in our works and prepared to go forward again. Brig- 
adier-General Deas, commanding first line, ordered me to remain 
in the works until, by order of Major-General Clayton, I took 
position near the railway from which I had moved originally. 
I never saw a better spirit manifested than when called upon to 
re-form for the purpose of making a second attack. Every offi- 
cer and man was in his place and ready to advance. My loss 
was very heavy in this assault. In fifteen minutes I lost nearly 
half my command in killed and wounded." 

Govan's brigade of Arkansas troops was severely handled 
at Jonesboro, General Govan himself, together with more 
than 500 of his men, being captured. Colonel Green, of the 
Fifth .Arkansas infantry, who led the remnant of the brigade 
back to the Confederate lines, made the following report of its 
operations on the 1st of September: "On the morning of the 
1 st instant the brigade was aroused at 3 o'clock and immedi- 
ately moved by the right flank through Jonesboro and about 
one mile beyond and northwest of the town, and were placed in 
position on the extreme right of our line. We arrived in rear 
of our position about daybreak, but, owing to the unsettled con- 
dition of the brigade on our left, did not commence work until 
between the hours of 8 and 9. We had just succeeded in throw- 
ing up works of sufficient strength to protect against minie-balls, 
when we were ordered to build a work running from the right 
of the brigade to the railroad, almost perpendicular to the first 
line. About this time a heavy artillery fire was opened upon 
us from points opposite the right, left, and center with such ef- 
fect that Colonel Smith, Sixth Arkansas Regiment, who had 
supervision of the work, deemed it advisable to suspend the 
work temporarily on account of the exposure to which the men 
were subjected, several having been killed and wounded. In 
the meantime the enemy were engaged in massing their troops in 



588 Atlanta And Its Builders 

front of our right, and at 3 p. m. drove in the pickets along my 
entire front, in half an hour advancing in heavy column upon the 
front of the right of the brigade, also upon the flank. They 
charged to within from thirty to sixty yards of the works and 
were repulsed, with heavy loss, the Sixth and Seventh Arkansas 
Regiments capturing about 20 prisoners. The enemy retired 
in great confusion beyond the brow of the hill and re-formed, 
and being heavily reinforced charged again from three direc- 
tions, converging upon the angle formed by the two lines above 
mentioned, and carried the works occupied by the Sixth and 
Seventh Arkansas Regiments, and, forming a line at right angle 
with the works, advanced square down the back and rear of the 
brigade. Although the odds were very great, the men gallantly 
contested their advance, fighting the enemy with clubbed guns 
and at the point of the bayonet, and thus a great many lost the 
opportunity for escaping. The advance of the enemy was so 
rapid, and the woods on the right being so dense as to screen 
their movements, it was impossible to form any combinations to 
resist it. Thus it was that our gallant Brig.-Gen. D. C. Govan 
and his equally gallant assistant adjutant-general (Capt. Q. A. 
Williams) were captured almost before aware that the enemy 
had broken the line. In this way, advancing down the works, 
they arrived in rear of the Third Confederate Regiment, which 
was on the right of the Fifth and Thirteenth Arkansas Regi- 
ments, and which was engaging a line of battle 100 yards in 
their front, [and] it was forced to surrender almost en masse." 
The report of Holtzclaw's brigade is in part as follows: 
"About 3 p. m. the brigade was in line of battle in the edge of 
the woods, being the right brigade of the second line, and over- 
lapping the front line nearly the entire brigade front. The 
right wing of the brigade and its right flank were protected by 
a line of skirmishers. At the appointed signal for the advance, 
the order of the major-general, the men and officers generally 
moved forward with spirit and enthusiasm and in very good 
order. After advancing about 200 yards I met the first line, re- 
pulsed with disorder and confusion after a very short contest, 
and then an open space of about 300 yards intervened between 
the brigade and the works of the enemy. The line continued to 
advance with good order and much enthusiasm. Unfortunately, 



Battle of Jonesboro 589 

just as the line arrived at a line of rail piles, about forty yards 
in front of the enemy's line, the line halted without orders, and 
the men sought shelter behind these piles, throwing the line in 
disorder. In a few minutes I saw the line on my left give way 
and retire in disorder. The men were in the regiment imme- 
diately on my left. I hastened to the left, fearing the example 
would cause the left regiment of the brigade to retire also, but 
soon saw they maintained their position without any encourage- 
ment from me. I then used every effort in my power to re-form 
the line and to urge the men forward to take the works in front, 
but without effect. I held this advanced position until all the 
troops within sight on my left had been repulsed, and until I saw 
that it was useless to make any more efforts to carry the position 
— probably about a half hour. I then ordered the brigade to 
retire in order, and re-formed the line at the first line of works 
from which we advanced at the beginning of the battle. 

"I regret to say that the conduct of the brigade after halting 
at the picket-line of the enemy was not satisfactory. The men 
seemed possessed of some great horror of charging breast- 
works, which no power, persuasion, or example could dispel, yet 
I must say that the officers generally did their duty." 

The Confederate reports of Jonesboro at the disposal 
of the compiler of these records were very meagre and the most 
important ones altogether lacking. In many of them the offi- 
cers complain of the conduct of their men, averring that they 
lacked spirit and the desperate courage necessary to accomplish 
results in such a dangerous situation. On the evening of the 
31st of August General Hardee sent this message to President 
Davis at Richmond : "Fought the enemy at Jonesboro to- 
day, but without decisive results. Cleburne, commanding my 
corps, carried the enemy's intrenchments on the left and holds 
them. Lieutenant-General Lee carried a part of the enemy's 
works, but was in the end badly repulsed. No loss in material. 
Generals Anderson and Cumming badly wounded. Telegraph 
communication with Atlanta broken. I can hold this place un- 
less the enemy cross Flint River below me. My aim will be 
to keep my command between the enemy and Macon." 

On the night of September 1st, while Atlanta was being 
evacuated, General Hardee withdrew his corps from Jones- 



590 Atlanta And Its Builders 

boro, after having sent Lee's corps back to Atlanta to rejoin 
Hood, and fell back to Lovejoy's Station, some five miles south 
of Jonesboro. where he intrenched in a naturally strong posi- 
tion and awaited Sherman's pursuit. On the 2d of September 
Hardee wired Richmond : "The enemy attacked my whole line 
fiercely at Jonesboro yesterday, turning my right flank at the 
same time. The assault was everywhere repulsed, except upon 
Lewis's and Govan's brigades, which gave way, but re-formed 
about 150 yards in rear of their original line, and maintained 
their position steadily. I was occupying in single rank the line 
of both Lee's corps and my own of the day previous. My own 
reserves had to be thrown on my right flank to prevent the 
enemy from turning my position. 1 lost a few prisoners, in- 
cluding Brigadier-General Govan, and 8 pieces of artillery. My 
loss not heavy in killed or wounded. The loss of the enemy be- 
lieved to be greater than in any previous engagement of the cam- 
paign. Prisoners report that General Sherman commanded in 
person, and that there were six corps in my front. The enemy 
reached the Decatur road before dark, compelling me to retire 
to this place, four miles and a half in rear of my position of yes- 
terday." 

Before he had abandoned Jonesboro, Hardee tele- 
graphed President Davis : "Last night Lee's corps was ordered 
back to Atlanta by General Hood. I recommended that he 
should evacuate Atlanta while it was practicable. He will be 
compelled to contract his lines, and the enemy has force enough 
to invest him. My instructions are to protect Macon." 

Hood cautioned Generals Morgan and Scott at East Point 
to be on their guard for a momentary attack from Schofield and 
not to let the enemy get between them and Atlanta. The Mc- 
Donough road was open, and over it Lee hurried his troops to 
the doomed city. Hood still had hope of doing Sherman in- 
jury in the rear. On the day the battle of Jonesboro was 
fought he sent this message to General Wheeler, operating in 
Tennessee: "Sherman faces Atlanta from the west, crossing 
the Chattahoochee at Sandtown. His wagon trains must be 
greatly exposed. General Hood thinks you had better move 
this way, destroying as you come, to operate upon them." 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

THE FALL OF ATLANTA 

On the ist of September it was evident to the dullest sol- 
dier in Hood's army that Atlanta could not be held with safety 
to the Confederate forces for twenty-four hours longer. De- 
serters and stragglers pouring into the city from Jonesboro 
soon acquainted even the citizens with the fact that the battle 
had gone against them and that Sherman's army was in com- 
plete possession of the Macon and Western railroad. All that 
day, and especially during the afternoon, it was apparent that 
the situation was most critical by the movements of the troops 
still clinging to the defenses of Atlanta. The guns in the em- 
brasures were one by one withdrawn and dragged to the south- 
eastern part of the city, where the artillery and a vast number 
of army wagons were parked in readiness to be moved when the 
army took up its line of march. Military discipline seemed to 
be relaxed, in so far as the citizens were governed by it. Peo- 
ple who ventured out of their houses to see what was going on 
were no longer stopped on the street and asked to exhibit their 
passes. Soldiers hurried hither and thither, too busy or forbid- 
den to answer questions, and Atlantans could only guess what 
was about to transpire. With the majority the idea prevailed 
that Hood was massing his forces for a great battle on the very 
threshold of the city, and ears were strained anxiously for the 
sound of cannonading to the south, from which direction Sher- 
man was believed to be advancing in force. The most imminent 
danger from the enemy was at that time from the north, where 
Slocum's corps was watching its opportunity to break into At- 
lanta, but the citizens did not know it. 

Night fell — a hot summer night, with sheet lightning and 
thunder mutterings in the heavens. Citizens barred their doors 

59i 



59 2 Atlanta And Its Builders 

and watched cautiously from their upper windows the black fig- 
ures of marching soldiers moving in long columns through the 
streets. The measured tread of thousands of feet, the heavy 
rumble of wagons, the clatter of horses' hoofs and the rattle of 
artillery carriages filled with ominous sounds the early hours of 
the night, and then, after the city seemed deserted of soldiers, 
there was a short space of breathless silence. "Sherman is 
coming!" was the expression first on every tongue and the 
thought uppermost in every heart. Suddenly a series of explo- 
sions, deafening in volume of sound and terrifying beyond de- 
scription, seemed to rock the city like an earthquake. The inky 
sky became luminous with a lurid light in the direction of the 
railroad shops and the great army warehouses. It looked as 
though a million rockets and Roman candles were being set off 
with a medley of terrifying noises. Then everybody knew the 
truth. Atlanta was abandoned, and the last act in the stern 
drama of war on the part of the Confederates was being per- 
formed — the ammunition and war material that the army 
could not carry away with it was being destroyed. 
Seventy carloads of ammunition were blown up by the 
cavalry force left behind for the purpose, and it was nearly 
sunrise of the 2d before the last explosion reverberated through 
the desolated city. The work of destruction was not completed 
until this great mass of ammunition, every locomotive and car 
in Atlanta, and every army wagon and cannon that could not be 
moved in the hurry of flight, had been set on fire. The flames 
were communicated to several buildings and for a time it looked 
as if a great conflagration would rage over the city. Happily 
such a calamity was averted by the deathly stillness of the night. 
The very air seemed to hold its breath. 

In the morning when the citizens ventured out to view the 
wreckage down on the Georgia railroad, they found conditions 
more menacing to life and property than at any time during the 
siege. The streets were full of prowlers bent on looting, and 
a host of strange negroes waiting for Sherman's arrival in a 
spirit of new-found freedom that threatened to break out at any 
moment in riotous demonstrations and crime. Something very 
much like a vigilance committee was formed by common con- 



The Fall of Atlanta 593 

sent by the property-holders, and well-known citizens patrolled 
the streets with arms in their hands. But for the precautions 
taken to prevent pillage and arson, Atlanta would have experi- 
enced a wild reign of anarchy upon the eve of the Union occupa- 
tion. 

Hood, with the corps of Stewart and the state troops, 
marched out of Atlanta by the McDonough road to join Hardee 
at Lovejoy's Station, the corps of Lee remaining to cover the 
movement and then forming the rear guard on the march. Fer- 
guson's brigade of cavalry was last to leave the city, some of the 
troopers lingering behind long enough to exchange shots with 
Sherman's advance column as it entered the city on the Marietta 
road. 

The destruction of the vast amount of war material and 
stores by the Confederates upon evacuating Atlanta caused much 
criticism of Hood by the press of the South, as it was believed 
that he had had ample time to get everything to the rear before 
his communciation with Macon was interrupted. Hood de- 
clared that he was not responsible for the loss, and caused a 
court of inquiry to be held at Lovejoy's Station, on the 5th of 
September, to fix the responsibility. The court, having con- 
sidered the evidence advanced, submitted the following facts and 
opinions : "Upon the evacuation of Atlanta upon September 1 
and 2, 1864, there were destroyed a small amount of quarter- 
master's and medical stores, some subsistence stores, 13 heavy 
guns and carriages, 28 carloads of ordnance, 81 cars, and 5 en- 
gines. A detailed account of said stores is contained in the ex- 
hibits attached to these proceedings. It is the opinion of the 
court that the subsistence stores and the heavy guns were un- 
avoidably lost, and that the quartermaster's stores, medical 
stores, ordnance stores, cars, and engines were unnecessarily 
lost. As to the culpability of the parties asking the investiga- 
tion, they are of the opinion that as Brigadier-General Shoup, 
chief of staff, gave his orders specially and fully to the various 
chiefs of departments, and to 12.30 a. m. of August 31 used 
every effort to see that his instructions were executed, no blame 
attaches to him to that time; but that between that time and 8 
a. m. of the 31st he, not having displayed sufficient energy, or 

38-1 



594 Atlanta And Its Builders 

used all the means in his possession to see that there was a com- 
pliance with his instructions, is censurable. The twenty-eight 
car-loads of ammunition, the quartermaster's stores, and the 
cars and engines were destroyed principally in consequence of 
the failure of Lieutenant-Colonel McMicken, chief quarter- 
master, to comply with the specific and repeated instructions 
from the chief of staff to have all such stores removed by day- 
light ; that Lieutenant-Colonel McMicken had at his disposal 
sufficient cars and engines to move all trains as ordered, and 
they were not so moved because proper instructions were not 
given by him to the railroad agents. We consider him highly 
culpable for not having promptly complied with said orders 
from the chief of staff. We do not consider him responsible 
for the loss of the medical stores, as requisitions made upon him 
failed to state the amount of transportation required for the re- 
moval of said stores. As to Lieutenant-Colonel Kennard, 
chief of ordnance, the court are of the opinion that no blame at- 
taches to him, as he notified the chief of staff and chief quarter- 
master in ample time that the ordnance stores were in readiness 
to move." 

Fortunately for the people who remained in Atlanta, the 
stocks of liquor in the place had been removed or destroyed, and 
those who would have defied law and order under the influence 
of strong drink were held in check by the determined attitude 
of the citizens who essayed to protect life and property until 
Sherman took formal possession. Before the Confederates 
left the city they distributed among the more destitute citizens 
quite a quantity of provisions from the stores that could not be 
removed. This action no doubt had a tendency to restrain any 
of the people thus relieved from plundering after the army had 
been withdrawn. However, as a matter of fact, there was little 
left in the city worth plundering, outside the private residences. 
The stocks of merchandise, and especially groceries, had long 
since disappeared. 

Early on the morning of September 2d a group of the lead- 
ing citizens of Atlanta met in the office of the mayor to discuss 
the best course of action under the circumstances. A majority 
of those present thought that the safety of the city would be best 



The Fall of Atlanta 595 

subserved by its speedy occupation by the Union army, and as 
there seemed then no certainty that the enemy would come in at 
once, the suggestion that a committee ride to the headquarters of 
the nearest Federal commander and apprise him of the state of 
affairs in Atlanta, met with favor. Mayor Calhoun thought it 
would perhaps be best to head the committee himself and in his 
official capacity formally tender the surrender of the city. The 
idea met with universal concurrence, and by 10 o'clock Mayor 
Calhoun, E. E. Rawson, Thomas G. Crusselle, J. E. Williams, 
Thomas Kile, William Markham, Julius Hayclen and a number 
of other prominent citizens met at the site of the artesian well 
mounted on about all the horses that had been left in riding con- 
dition in Atlanta. It was known that a part of the Federal army 
was holding the bridge across the Chattahoochee, and with the 
belief that that was the point at which the Federals could most 
quickly be reached, the little party of horsemen moved briskly 
in that direction, out Marietta street. A considerable gather- 
ing- of citizens assembled to see them off, but no cheers followed 
them. One of the party held aloft a white flag, and there was 
no mistaking from the appearance of the citizens that their mis- 
sion was one of peace. No arms were carried, each gentleman 
having been careful to leave his pistol at home. 

Nobody in Atlanta knew where Sherman had his headquar- 
ters since he had left the Howard house, but the peace committee 
thought the great general would be found at his base and it was 
to him that Mayor Calhoun expected to surrender Atlanta. The 
deserted works of the Confederates were passed just at the 
northern outskirts of the city. Not a soul was in sight. After 
the long weeks of continued cannonading, and the terrible ex- 
plosions of the previous night, it seemed strange that such a 
Sabbath stillness prevailed. A few hundred yards beyond the 
Confederate works stretched the parallel line of Federal earth- 
works. The cannon had been withdrawn from the embrasures 
and the parapet seemed as devoid of life behind it as the works 
just passed. Suddenly, along a road leading across the old 
Union lines, a small squad of cavalry came slowly feeling toward 
Atlanta. The citizens' committee caught the eye of the mounted 
squad of soldiers instantly, and they moved down toward the 
civilians carrying the white flag with an air of curious interest. 




James M. Calhoun 



Mayor of Atlanta at the time of its sur- 
render to General Sherman 



The Fall of Atlanta 597 

The leader, with the bars of a captain on his shoulder-straps, 
rode up to the party, which had halted, and politely inquired 
what was wanted. Mayor Calhoun introduced himself and made 
known the mission of himself and fellow-citizens. "I am looking- 
for General Sherman," he said. 

"General Sherman is twenty miles from here, sir; down 
about Jonesboro," returned the Federal captain. "If you want to 
reach the commanding- officer of this department, you will have to 
see General Slocum, at the bridge. He will shortly be in command 
in Atlanta." 

At this juncture a larger body of Federal soldiers advanced 
along the same road, and excusing himself for a moment, the cap- 
tain rode to the side of an officer in advance of the newcomers, 
whom he escorted to the mayor of Atlanta. 

"This is Colonel Coburn, commanding the Second Brigade," 
said he. "He will receive your communication." With that the 
captain rode away with his men toward Atlanta. 

Colonel Coburn advised Mayor Calhoun to formally write 
a note embodying his desire to surrender the city, addressed to 
Brigadier-General Ward, the nearest general officer, which he 
said he would see reached him without delay. Taking a memo- 
randum book from his pocket. Mayor Calhoun tore out a blank 
page and wrote thereon the following message, which could 
hardly be termed a "surrender" : 

Atlanta, Ga., September 2, 1864. 
Bbigadier-General Ward, 

Comdg. Third Division, Twentieth Corps: 
Sir : The fortune of war has placed Atlanta in your hands. 
As mayor of the city I ask protection to non-combatants and pri- 
vate property. James M. Calhoun, 

Mayor of Atlanta. 

Attest : H. M. Scott, 

Capt. and Actg. Asst. Ins p. Gen., 3d Div., 20th Army Corps. 

J. P. Thompson, 
Lieut, and Actg. Aide-de-Camp, 3d Div., 20th Army Corps. 

Colonel Coburn handed the note to a courier with instruc- 
tions to carry it to General Ward, and Mayor Calhoun and party 



598 Atlanta And Its Builders 

turned their horses' heads toward Atlanta, riding into the city in 
the rear of Coburn's command. There is a picturesque but not 
true story to the effect that Mayor Calhoun and his committee 
rode to Sherman's headquarters, where the city was surrendered 
and a conversation had with Sherman relative to the protection of 
private property in Atlanta. The chroniclers of this interesting 
incident, after elaborating on the appearance of Sherman, taci- 
turn and grim, as usual, assume to give his conversation, em- 
bellished, as usual, with vehement expletives. It is a pity to spoil 
a pretty fancy sketch, but the truth of history must be preserved. 
General Sherman was near Howard's corps, two miles from 
Jonesboro, when Mayor Calhoun rode out the west road to seek 
him, and it was some days before he appeared in person in At- 
lanta. When he formally established his headquarters in the city, 
General Slocum was in full possession and martial law in force. 
In order that the facts in connection with this incident may be 
clearly established, the reports of Captain Scott and Colonel Co- 
burn, the officers with whom Mayor Calhoun conversed as nar- 
rated in the foregoing, are here given. Following is what Cap- 
tain H. M. Scott says of the circumstances : 

Hdos. Tpiird Division, Twentieth Army Corps, 

Atlanta, Ga., September 3, 1864. 

General : I have the honor to submit the following report 
of reconnaissance made yesterday, which resulted in the occupa- 
tion of Atlanta by our forces : 

The troops composing this expedition consisted of 900 in- 
fantry from Second and Third Brigades, under command of Col. 
John Coburn, and about 25 cavalry from Colonel Capron's brig- 
ade. Taking the advance with cavalry, I proceeded out Turner's 
Ferry road, and, scouting country thoroughly to right and left, 
advanced without opposition to the works in front of Atlanta 
formerly occupied by our division. Here we halted a few mo- 
ments for the purpose of taking some observations, and, accom- 
panied by Captain Smith, Battery I, First Michigan Artillery; 
Lieut. J. P. Thompson, provost-marshal. Third Division, Twen- 
tieth Army Corps ; Lieut. F. C. Crawford, acting assistant adju- 
tant-general. Second Brigade, Third Division, and two cavalry- 



The Fall of Atlanta 599 

men, I went on to the hill formerly occupied by the former officer 
with his battery, and from which we could see the city. As no 
indication of there being troops at Atlanta was seen, 1 sent an or- 
derly to communicate the fact to Colonel Coburn, and to bring 
up the rest of the cavalry, while myself and party advanced still 
farther upon a road which led into the city to our right. After 
entering the works of enemy a few rebels were seen retiring to- 
ward the place, and we immediately gave pursuit. A few mo- 
ments later, however, rebel cavalry formed in line across each of 
the streets leading toward us, and fired upon us. As the rest of 
my cavalry had not yet made its appearance, we drew 7 out, taking 
with us 1 prisoner. I then communicated with you by courier, 
and also reported to Colonel Coburn how matters stood. Taking 
all of the cavalry with me, I then moved to the left and rear of the 
position occupied by the body of rebel cavalry reported above as 
having opened fire upon us, and took another road leading into 
the city. Soon after passing through the works formerly occu- 
pied by our army a body of men was observed coming out from 
the city. Advancing rapidly toward them, I discovered that they 
were citizens bearing a flag of truce. Going forward, I asked them 
what propositons they had to make. One of them then made him- 
self known as the mayor, and said he had come to surrender the 
city and ask protection for non-combatants and private property. 
In answer to further interrogatives he said that General Fergu- 
son's brigade was just retiring from the city, and that the general 
had agreed to withdraw without offering us resistance in order to 
insure the safety of non-combatants. I notified you immediately 
by courier of the surrender, and then escorted Colonel Coburn to 
the place where the mayor and citizens were assembled. I then 
rejoined the cavalry, who were pushing forward into the city. 
Notwithstanding the assurance of the mayor that resistance 
would not be offered us, we had scarcely entered the city before 
we were fired upon and a spirited skirmish ensued. I notified 
some of the citizens that we considered this a violation of good 
faith, and that if the rebels continued to fire from behind houses 
they need expect no protection for persons or property, and that 
they had better communicate this fact to the enemy. The mayor 
afterward went out and endeavored to stop the firing, but came 



600 Atlanta And Its Builders 

back reporting that he could do nothing with the men, that it was 
but a few drunken stragglers, and lhat they had come very near 
shooting him. The infantry skirmishers were then pushed for- 
ward and with the cavalry cleared the city. We captured in all 
over ioo prisoners, and found in City Hall about ioo stand of 
small-arms and 5,000 percussion caps. The latter were afterward 
destroyed, as were many of the records of the clerk's office, by 
some men who came in at a later hour of the day. The rebels 
also left a number of pieces of heavy artillery and a quantity of 
ammunition. The men of this command behaved excellently. 
There was no disposition to straggle or commit depredations man- 
ifested. We first entered the city at about 9 a. m., and about one 
hour afterward the surrender was made. Attached hereto find 
copy of capitulation. About 2 p. m. part of the First and Second 
Divisions came up, and soon after General Slocum arrived and 
took command. I have no casualties to report. Where all behaved 
so gallantly it would be invidious to make any distinctions. I 
feel, however, that it is due to Lieutenant Boren, Fourteenth Illi- 
nois Cavalry, commanding the cavalry, to say that both he and his 
men behaved splendidly. 

I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. M. Scott, 
Capt. 70th hid. Vol. Infty., and A. A. I. G., 3d Div., 20th A. C. 

[Brig.-Gen. W. T. Ward, 

Commanding Third Division.} 

The part of Colonel Coburn's report which refers to the 
meeting with Mayor Calhoun and party and the first hours of 
the Federal occupation of Atlanta, is reproduced as follows : 

"On the 2d of September, at 6 a. m., under orders from 
Brigadier-General Ward, I marched on a reconnaissance from 
Turner's Ferry to find the position of the enemy toward Atlanta. 
I had under my command 900 infantry, composed of 500 men 
of my brigade, commanded by Captain Crawford, Eighty-fifth 
Indiana ; Captain Baldwin, Nineteenth Michigan ; Captain May, 
Twenty-second Wisconsin, and Lieutenant Freeland, Thirty- 
third Indiana, and 400 of the Third Brigade, under command of 
Major Wickham, Fifty-fifth Ohio, together with 40 mounted 



The Fall of Atlanta 60 1 

men under Captain Scott, Seventieth Indiana. Two hundred 
and forty men were thrown forward as skirmishers and flankers, 
and so advanced without opposition until we reached the earth- 
works recently abandoned by us near Atlanta. Here, after a 
short delay, occasioned by a slight skirmish with a few mounted 
men and sentinels, we proceeded through the lines of the enemy's 
works, finding them abandoned. A brigade of the enemy's cav- 
alry was found to be in the city and we advanced cautiously. I 
was met in the suburbs by Mr. Calhoun, the mayor, with a com- 
mittee of citizens bearing a flag of truce. He surrendered the 
city to me, saying 'he only asked protection for persons and prop- 
erty.' This was at 11 a. m. I asked him if the rebel cavalry 
was yet in the city. He replied that Ferguson's brigade was 
there, but on the point of leaving. I replied that my force was 
moving into the city and that unless that force retired there 
would be a fight in which neither person nor property would be 
safe, and that if necessary I would burn the houses of citizens 
to dislodge the enemy ; that I did not otherwise intend to injure 
persons or property of the citizens unless used against us. I 
ordered my skirmishers to advance, and they proceeded through 
the city, the cavalry rapidly evacuating the place. I at once sent 
dispatches to Brigadier-General Ward, at Turner's Ferry, and to 
Major-General Slocum, at the railroad bridge, of the occupation 
of the city by my command. General Slocum came at once to the 
city. Immediately preceding him came a portion of the First and 
Second Divisions of the Twentieth Corps. General Ward di- 
rected a portion of my brigade to move up from Turner's Ferry, 
under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Bloodgood, Twenty-sec- 
ond Wisconsin, which reached Atlanta about sunset, and the re- 
mainder, under Major Miller, the next morning. Soon after 
General Slocum' s arrival he directed me to move my command, 
which then occupied the works of the enemy on the southeastern 
part of the city, to the right of the Augusta railroad. This was 
done, and General Knipe's brigade was posted on the left of the 
road in single line, deployed at intervals of three paces. Here the 
brigade has remained in camp until this date. The command 
captured 123 prisoners, including those in hospital. Some 200 
small-arms were found in the City Hall, and about 16 pieces of 



602 Atlanta And Its Builders 

artillery abandoned in the works and burned with the train of 
cars. The ammunition abandoned had been fired in the night 
and continued to explode with loud reports after we had entered 
the city in the forts and among the ruins of the burning shops 
and buildings where it had been deposited. The works of the 
enemy were left almost perfect, and there seemed to have been 
no attempt at destruction of anything but of the material of 
war. As we passed through the streets many of the citizens ran 
gladly out to meet us, welcoming us as deliverers from the 
despotism of the Confederacy ; others regarded us with appre- 
hension and begged to be spared from robbery. I assured them 
they would be safe from this. Many of the buildings were found 
to be much injured by our artillery, but such as will be needed 
for public use can be taken at once with slight repairs. My com- 
mand on the reconnaissance behaved with remarkable prompt- 
ness and energy, and deserved to be first, as they were, of our 
army to enter the city. The losses in this time are 5 killed and 
22 wounded." 

General Slocum's message to his chief, General Thomas, 
telling of the occupation of Atlanta, follows : 

Headquarters Twentieth Corps, 

Atlanta, Ga., September 3, 1864. 
General : I sent out a reconnoitering party early on the 
morning of the 2d (as I had done on each previous day). They 
arrived near Atlanta about 10 a. m., and were met by the mayor, 
and the city was surrendered to them. On entering, however, a 
portion of Ferguson's cavalry were found in the city and a few 
shots were exchanged with them. I at once moved forward all 
of my command that could safely be spared from the bridge- 
heads and occupied the city, and now feel that our position is 
safe, both at this point as well as at the bridges. We occupy the 
entire line of rebel works at this place. We have captured about 
100 prisoners, 14 pieces of artillery, and several thousand stand 
of small-arms. The rebels before leaving the city destroyed 7 
locomotives, 81 cars loaded with ammunition, small-arms, and 
stores. The railroad is repaired and in working order to this 
place. I have ordered the ammunition and a large portion of the 



The Fall of Atlanta 603 

subsistence stores now at the bridge to be sent here. The enemy 
that occupied the city moved out apparently very much demoral- 
ized. They moved on the McDonough road with the intention 
of joining their main army. General Hood left here on the night 
previous to our entrance. On our arrival here I telegraphed to 
the War Department all the information in my possession. The 
telegraph line will be completed to this point this afternoon. It is 
reported that Wheeler has cut the Nashville and Chattanooga 
Railroad at Tantalon, and also the Nashville and Huntsville 
Railroad. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

H. W. Slocum, 
Major-General, Commanding. 
Brigadier-General Whipple, 

Assistant Adjutant-General, Chief of Staff. 

About noon September 2d the whole line of Marietta street 
was blue with "Sherman's dashing Yankee boys," and the citi- 
zens of Atlanta were hailing the conquerer with mixed emotions. 
Some, tired of the war, or now feeling free to express long con- 
cealed Union sentiments, greeted the Federals with a show of 
enthusiastic welcome ; others took little pains to conceal the fact 
that they regarded the Northern host as "vandal invaders," on 
conquest bent, and sometimes even the small boys of staunch 
"Secesh" families whistled "Dixie" and "The Bonnie Blue Flag" 
for the benefit of the blue-bloused patrols. A number of shots 
were exchanged on Decatur street with the retiring Confederate 
cavalrymen, resulting in several fatalities on both sides. In their 
zeal to show their defiance to the last, a few of these Confed- 
erate troopers lingered too long in the city and found their ave- 
nue of retreat cut off, being taken prisoners by the Federal skir- 
mish column. Soon the desultory firing ceased and heavy col- 
umns of Federal infantry came marching in, one of them pre- 
ceded by a brass band which had a penchant for "Yankee Doo- 
dle." One of the first columns to enter halted in front of the 
city hall while its color-guard climbed to the cupola and ran the 
stars and strips to the top of the empty flag staff. By the middle 
of the afternoon the heavy army wagons were rolling in, 
wreathed in clouds of dust, and by sundown the irrepressible 



604 Atlanta And Its Builders 

sutler had his wares displayed in some vacant store in a good 
location and was driving a thriving trade with the citizens. 
Yankee newsboys cried well-known Northern papers and period- 
icals in the streets, a news agent of Sherman's army took pos- 
session of the post-office and converted it into a news emporium, 
and the United States Sanitary Commission opened a supply 
depot. The quartermasters occupied the best stores on White- 
hall street, and the general officers took possession of the best 
residences for headquarters. The soldiers got along very well 
with the citizens. After the first fright or feeling of resistance 
on the part of the latter was over, matters settled down amicably 
and smoothly enough. There was no pillaging, and not a woman 
was offered insult. On the contrary, Sherman's men seemed to 
want to make their enemies feel that they were there to protect 
them. In cases where families were destitute of the means of 
subsistence, their wants were supplied from the commissary 
stores. 

General Geary, who was among the first to enter Atlanta, 
gives the following account of how his command raised "Old 
Glory" over the city hall and formally took possession of the 
town : 

"Lieutenant-Colonel Walker, accompanied by the cavalry, 
preceded his infantry and entered the outskirts of the city, where 
he met Colonel Coburn, commanding the reconnaissance of the 
Third Division, who had also preceded his troops. Discovering 
that, with the exception of Ferguson's brigade, there were no 
troops in the city, it was agreed that their commands should enter 
at the same time, which was done, the enemy's cavalry retiring 
before them. Lieutenant-Colonel Walker's command was the 
first to reach the City Hall, upon which the colors of the Sixtieth 
New York and One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers were immediately hoisted. To these two regiments, repre- 
senting my division, belongs the immortal honor of placing upon 
the rebel stronghold the first Union flags, and to give the first 
practical announcement that the long campaign had ended in 
glorious victory — that the Gate City of the South was ours. Re- 
ceiving the intelligence of the evacuation of the city, I imme- 
diately ordered forward the Second and Third Brigades and 



The Fall of Atlanta 605 

Bundy's battery, preceding them lh person, thus leaving the en- 
tire line of works at the ferry to be held by the First Brigade, 
under command of Col. Ario Pardee. The troops arrived during 
the evening and were massed on McDonough and Whitehall 
streets. September 3, early in the morning, my two brigades 
were placed in position in the fortifications, the Third Brigade 
in southwestern portion of the line from the East Point railroad 
to the McDonough road, the Second Brigade on the left of the 
McDonough road and south of the city. September 4, the First 
Brigade being ordered from the Chattahoochee, arrived in the 
city at 3 o'clock and was placed in position in the works on the 
right of the Third Brigade, west of the city. The Second Brig- 
ade was relieved toward evening by the Third Brigade, Third 
Division, and moved to the right of the McDonough road, the 
line of the Third Brigade having been shortened. The One Hun- 
dred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers was to-day detached 
for provost duty, and reported to Colonel Cogswell, commanding 
post. Orders were received from Major-General Sherman an- 
nouncing the accomplishment by the army of its undertaking in 
the complete reduction and occupation of Atlanta, and indicating 
that the spring campaign was closed." 

When Sherman received the news of the fall of Atlanta, he 
was near Lovejoy's Station, whither he had followed his army 
in pursuit of Hardee. He lost no time in assaulting the Con- 
federate works, which were very strong, but with small success. 
The 3d of September would have witnessed a desperate battle at 
Lovejoy's Station had not the evacuation of Atlanta taken place 
when it did. On the night of the 2d Sherman said to Thomas : 
"Until we hear from Atlanta the exact truth, I do not care about 
your pushing your men against breast-works. Destroy the rail- 
road well up to your lines ; keep skirmishers well up, and hold 
your troops in hand for anything that may turn up. As soon 
as I know positively that our troops are in Atlanta I will deter- 
mine what to do. I have ordered General Schofield to feel for 
the McDonough road, to prevent reinforcements coming to the 
enemy from that direction." 

Perhaps his inability to prevent Hood and Hardee making a 
junction at Lovejoy's Station had something to do with Slier- 



606 Atlanta And Its Builders 

man's decision to terminate the campaign with the enemy in line 
of battle awaiting his assault. Hood brought the rest of his 
army up before daylight on the 3d and prepared to give the Fed- 
erals a warm reception behind head-logs. To leave his enemy 
thus, practically as well prepared for resistance as ever, must 
have been galling to Sherman and made him feel deeply the in- 
completeness of his victory, but he had good reasons to offer for 
his retirement to Atlanta, and subsequent events bore out his 
good judgment. While waiting for the confirmation of the 
rumor that S locum was already in Atlanta, Sherman said to 
Howard: "If it be so (the occupation of Atlanta), we don't 
care about pushing the enemy any further at this time. Had we 
prevented him making intrenchments, it would have been well, 
but, as he has a strong line, I do not wish to waste lives by an 
assault. You may therefore order the skirmishers close up, but 
hold your lines so as not to suffer much." Pending the receipt 
of a message from Slocum, announcing the capture of Atlanta, 
Sherman contented himself with breaking the Macon railroad 
down to the range of Hood's guns at Lovejoy's. 

On the morning of the 3d Hood wired the Confederate au- 
thorities at Richmond : "On the evening of the 30th the enemy 
made a lodgement across Flint River, near Jonesboro. We 
attacked them on the evening of the 31st with two corps, failing 
to dislodge them. This made it necessary to abandon Atlanta, 
which was done on the night of September 1. Our loss on the 
evening of the 31st was so small that it is evident that our effort 
was not a vigorous one. On the evening of September 1 Gen- 
eral Hardee's corps, in position at Jonesboro, was assaulted 
by a superior force of the enemy, and being outflanked was 
forced to withdraw during the night to this point, with the loss 
of 8 pieces of artillery. The enemy's prisoners report their loss 
very severe. I send a bearer of dispatches to-morrow." 

At intervals throughout the same day he sent the following 
messages to Richmond : 

"For the offensive, my troops at present are not more than 
equal to their own numbers. To prevent this country from being 
overrun reinforcements are absolutely necessary." 



The Fall of Atlanta 607 

"My telegram in cipher this morning is based upon the sup- 
position that the enemy will not content himself with Atlanta, 
but will continue offensive movements. All the lieutenant-gen- 
erals agree with me." 



"I again urge the importance of removing the prisoners 
from Andersonville." 



And on the 4th : 

"Should the enemy move to the east or west I shall endeavor 
to strike him with my entire force on his flank and rear. I think 
his move will be down the west of Flint River." 



"Owing to the wanton neglect of the chief quartermaster 
of this army a large awiount of ammunition and railroad stock 
had to be destroyed at Atlanta. He had more than ample time 
to remove the whole and had repeated instructions. I am reliably 
informed that he is too much addicted to drink of late to attend 
to his duties. Am greatly in want of an officer to take his place. 
Can you not send one?" 



"I think the officers and men of this army feel that every 
effort was made to hold Atlanta to the last. I do not think the 
army is discouraged." 

On the same day General Hardee telegraphed President 
Davis : 

"Unless this army is speedily and heavily reinforced Georgia 
and Alabama will be overrun. I see no other means to avert this 
calamity. Never in my opinion was our liberty in such danger. 
What can you do for us?" 

Following are President Davis's replies to Hood and Har- 
dee: 

Richmond, September 5, 1864. 

(Received 6th.) 
General J. B. Hood : 

Your dispatch to General Bragg of the 3d instant has been 
referred. To reinforce your army all available troops were sent, 



608 Atlanta And Its Builders 

and realizing the necessity for a further increase, the reserves, 
detailed men, and militia were called out. General Cobb informs 
me that you have ordered the troops sent from Augusta and 
other points to Macon to return to their posts. I cannot reconcile 
this with your declaration that reinforcements are absolutely 
necessary, or with the necessity for a prompt and vigorous move- 
ment upon the enemy before his divided forces could make a 
junction, or reinforcments be sent him from Tennessee or Mis- 
sissippi. Jefferson Davis. 

Richmond, September 5, 1864. 

General W. J. Hardee : 

Your dispatch of yesterday received. The necessity for re- 
inforcements was realized, and every effort was made to bring 
forward reserves, militia, and detailed men for the purpose. 
Polk, Maury, S. D. Lee, and Jones had been drawn on to fullest 
extent ; E. K. Smith had been called on. No other resource re- 
mains. It is now requisite that absentees be brought back, the 
addition required from the surrounding country be promptly 
made available, and that the means in hand be used with energy 
proportionate to the country's need. Jefferson Davis. 

After hearing from Slocum, Sherman announced the cap- 
ture of Atlanta in the following dispatch to General Halleck at 
Washington, dated September 3d : 

"As already reported, the army drew from about Atlanta, 
and on the 30th had made a good break of the West Point road 
and reached a good position from which to strike the Macon 
railroad, the right (General Howard's) near Jonesboro, the 
left (General Schofield's) near Rough and Ready, and the cen- 
ter (General Thomas's) at Couch's. General Howard found the 
enemy in force at Jonesboro, and intrenched his troops, the 
salient within a half a mile of the railroad. The enemy attacked 
him at 3 p. m., and was easily repulsed, leaving his dead and 
wounded. Finding strong opposition on the right, I advanced 
the left and center rapidly to the railroad, made a good lodg- 
ment, and broke it all the way from Rough and Ready down to 
Howard's left, near Jonesboro, and by the same movement 
I interposed my whole army between Atlanta and the part of the 



The Fall of Atlanta 609 

enemy intrenched in and around Jonesboro. We made a 
general attack on the enemy at Jonesboro on September 1, 
the Fourteenth Corps, General Jeff. C. Davis, carrying the works 
handsomely, with 10 guns and about 1,000 prisoners. In the 
night the enemy retreated south, and we have followed him to 
another of his well-chosen and hastily constructed lines, near 
Lovejoy's. Hood, at Atlanta, finding me on his road, the only 
one that could supply him, and between him and a considerable 
part of his army, blew up his magazines in Atlanta and left in 
the night-time, when the Twentieth Corps, General Slocum, took 
possession of the place. So Atlanta is ours, and fairly won. I 
shall not push much farther on this raid, but in a day or so will 
move to Atlanta and give my men some rest. Since May 5 we 
have been in one constant battle or skirmish, and need rest. Our 
losses will not exceed 1,200, and we have possession of over 300 
rebel dead, 250 wounded, and over 1,500 well prisoners.." 

To Slocum Sherman sent this message : "Move all the 
stores forward from Allatoona and Marietta to Atlanta. Take 
possession of all good buildings for Government purposes, and 
see they are not used as quarters. Advise the people to quit now. 
There can be no trade or commerce now until the war is over. 
Let Union families go to the North with their effects, and Secesh 
families move on. All cotton is tainted with treason, and no 
title in it will be respected. It must all go to Nashville as United 
States property, and pretended claimants may collect testimony 
for the pursuit of the proceeds of sale after they reach the U. S. 
treasury in money." 

On the 3d, while Hood was awaiting the attack of his ad- 
versary and the Georgia militia was marching into Griffin to de- 
fend that place against capture by a detachment from the Union 
army, Sherman issued the following field orders governing the 
next movement of his troops : 

Special Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Mississippi, 

Field Orders, In the Field, near Lovejoy's Station, Ga., 

No. 63. September J, 1864. 

I. Army commanders will, during to-day, send to Jones- 
boro all sick and wounded men, all empty wagons and prisoners 

39-i 



610 Atlanta And Its Builders 

of war, also all surplus wheels not needed for a five days' stay in 
front, ready to start to-morrow morning at 6 o'clock from Jones- 
boro for Atlanta. Each army will send a regiment to escort 
these wagons, and General Thomas will send an experienced 
colonel to conduct the train into Atlanta, there to await further 
orders. 

II. The army will be prepared to move back to-morrow or 
next day, the Army of the Cumberland to Atlanta and Chatta- 
hoochee bridge, the Army of the Tennessee to East Point, and 
the Army of the Ohio to Decatur. Major-General Thomas will 
have General Garrard's cavalry ready to act as the rear guard. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, Aide-de-Camp. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

THE UNION OCCUPATION 

On the morning of September 4th, before issuing the final 
orders for the occupation of Atlanta, General Sherman sent this 
supplemental message to the War department at Washington: 

"The Twentieth Corps now occupies Atlanta and the Chat- 
tahoochee bridges. The main army is now here (near Lovejoy's 
Station), grouped below Jonesboro. The enemy holds a line 
facing us, with front well covered with parapets, and flanks by 
Walnut Creek on the right and a confluent of Flint River on the 
left. His position is too strong to attack in front, and to turn it 
would carry me too far from my base at this time. Besides, there 
is no commensurate object, as there is no valuable point to his 
rear till we reach Macon, 103 miles from Atlanta. We are not 
prepared for that and I will gradually fall back and occupy Atlan- 
ta, which was and is our grand objective point, already secured. 
For the future I propose that of the drafted men I receive my due 
share, say 50,000 ; that an equal or greater number go to General 
Canby, who should now proceed with all eneregy to Montgomery 
and the reach of the Alabama River above Selma ; that when I 
know he can move on Columbus, Ga., I move on LaGrange and 
West Point, keeping to the east of the Chattahoochee ; that we 
form a junction, repair roads to Montgomery, and open up the 
Appalachicola and Chattahoochee Rivers to Columbus, and move 
from it as a base straight on Macon. This campaign can be made 
in the winter, and we can safely rely on the corn of the Flint and 
Chattahoochee to supply forage. If the Tensas Channel of the 
Alabama can be used. General Gardner, with the rebel garrison, 
could continue to hold Mobile for our use when we want it. I 
propose to remove all the inhabitants of Atlanta, sending those 
committed to our cause to the rear, and the rebel families to the 

611 



612 Atlanta And Its Builders 

front. I will allow no trade, manufactories, nor any citizens 
there at all, so that we will have the entire use of the railroad/ 
back, as also such corn and forage as may be reached by our 
troops. If the people raise a howl against my barbarity and 
cruelty I will answer that war is war, and not popularity-seeking. 
If they want peace they and their relatives must stop war." 

The special field orders issued the same day are reproduced 
below : 

Special Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Mississippi, 

Field Orders, In the Field, near Lovejoy's, 

No. 64. September 4, 1864. 

The army having accomplished its undertaking in the com- 
plete reduction and occupation of Atlanta will occupy the place 
and the country near it until a new campaign is planned in con- 
cert with the other grand armies of the United States. 

I. The Army of the Cumberland will occupy the city and 
its communications with Chattanooga, the Army of the Tennes- 
see will occupy East Point and the right flank, and the Army of 
the Ohio the town of Decatur and the left flank ; the cavalry will 
occupy Sandtown, Roswell, and other points on the flanks and 
along our line of communication. 

II. To withdraw to the posts herein designated, the Army 
of the Cumberland will withdraw, first, to Jonesboro ; second, to 
Rough and Ready, and third, to Atlanta, leaving the cavalry to 
bring up the rear in the manner herein described. 

III. The Army of the Tennessee will move in concert with 
that of the Cumberland, first, to its old position near Jonesboro ; 
second, across the Flint River to about Morrow's Mill, and third, 
to East Point and the head of Camp Creek. 

IV. The Army of the Ohio will also move in concert with 
that of the Cumberland, first, to a point near Jonesboro; second, 
to some point within two miles and east of Rough and Ready, 
and last to Decatur. 

V. General Kilpatrick's cavalry will cover the left rear of 
the Army of the Tennessee, and that of General Garrard the 
right rear of the Army of the Ohio until they reach the positions 
assigned in this order, when the cavalry commands will move to 
the points designated, viz., Sandtown and Roswell. 



The Union Occupation 613 

VI. The general-in-chief will give notice when the move- 
ment will begin, and after reaching Atlanta will establish head- 
quarters in Atlanta, and afford the army an opportunity to have 
a full month's rest, with every chance to organize, receive pay, 
replenish clothing, and prepare for a fine winter's campaign. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, Aide-de-Camp. 

The Army of the Cumberland did not take up its position in 
Atlanta until the 8th of September, when it camped on the north- 
eastern outskirts of the city, near the position it held after Scho- 
fielcl had been moved beyond Ezra Church. Slocum's corps 
remained in the city, that general commanding Atlanta. Sher- 
man's march back to Atlanta was exceedingly slow, and his 
dispositions were made with a view of meeting any unexpected 
movement on Hood's part. To Schofield he said : "We have 
gained too much to lose it by scattering and risking anything." 

On the 6th, after notifying Richmond of Sherman's "re- 
treat" back to Atlanta, Hood said : "I shall make dispositions 
to prevent the enemy, as far as possible, from foraging south of 
Atlanta, and at the same time endeavor to prevent his massing 
supplies at that place. I deem it important that the prisoners at 
Andersonville should be so disposed of as not to prevent this 
army from moving in any direction it may be thought best. Ac- 
cording to all human calculations we should have saved Atlanta 
had the officers and men of the army done what was expected of 
them. It has been God's will for it to be otherwise. I am of 
good heart and feel that we shall yet succeed. The army is much 
in need of a little rest. After removing the prisoners from 
Andersonville, I think we should, as soon as practicable, place 
our army upon the communications of the enemy, drawing our 
supplies from the West Point and Montgomery railroad. Look- 
ing to this, I shall at once proceed to strongly fortify Macon. 
Please do not fail to give me advice at all times. It is my desire 
to do the best for you and my country. May God be with you 
and us." 

Replying to congratulatory telegrams from Secretary of 
War Stanton and General Grant, Sherman wired : 



6 14 Atlanta And Its Builders 

In the Field, 

Near Jonesboro, Ga., September 6, 1864 — 5 />. m. 
Hon. E. M. Stanton, (Received 11.05 P- m - 8th.) 

Secretary of War. 
I have just received your telegram, and shall announce it to 
the whole army, preceded by the expression, "The general com- 
manding announces to the army with pride and satisfaction," and 
followed by "All corps, regiments, and batteries may, without 
further notice, inscribe 'Atlanta' on their colors." We are moving 
back to Atlanta slowly, making good use of the corn-fields, which 
our animals needed, and to prevent a boast of the enemy that we 
were in hurry. I have burned a good deal of cotton, but will 
save enough to pay the expenses of the salute. 

W. T. Sherman, Major-General. 



In the Field, 
Near Jonesboro, Ga., September 6, 1864 — 3 P- m - 
Lieut.-Gen. U. S. Grant, (Received 8th.) 

City Point, Va, 
I have your dispatch and will announce it to the troops in 
general orders. We are gradually falling back to Atlanta, feed- 
ing high on the corn-fields of the Confederacy. I will be in 
Atlanta in a day or two and will communicate fully with you. 
I always felt that you would personally take more pleasure in 
my success than in your own, and I appreciate the feeling to its 
fullest extent. W. T. Sherman, Major-General. 

The congratulatory field orders which embodied the dis- 
patches above referred to, follow : 

Special Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Miss., 

Field Orders, In the Field, near Jonesboro, Ga., 

No. 66. September 6, 1864. 

I. The general-in-chief communicates with a feeling of 
just pride and satisfaction the following orders of the President 
of the United States, and telegram of Lieut.-Gen. U. S. Grant, 
on hearing of the capture of Atlanta : 



The Union Occupation 615 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D. C, September 3, 1864. 
The national thanks are tendered by the President to Maj.- 
Gen. W. T. Sherman and the gallant officers and soldiers of his 
command before Atlanta, for the distinguished ability, courage, 
and perseverance displayed in the campaign in Georgia, which, 
under Divine favor, has resulted in the capture of the city of 
Atlanta. The marches, battles, sieges, and other military opera- 
tions that have signalized the campaign, must render it famous 
in the annals of war, and have entitled those who have partici- 
pated therein to the applause of the nation. 

Abraham Lincoln, 
President of the United States. 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington City, September 3, 1864. 

Ordered : 

First. That on Monday, the 5th day of September, com- 
mencing at the hour of 12 noon, there shall be given a salute of 
100 guns at the Arsenal and Navy- Yard, Washington, and on 
Tuesday, the 6th day of September, or on the day after the re- 
ceipt of this order, at each arsenal and navy-yard in the United 
States, for the recent brilliant achievements of the fleet and land 
forces of the United States in the harbor of Mobile, and in the 
reduction of Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan. The 
Secretary of War and Secretary of Navy will issue the necessary 
directions, in their respective Departments, for the execution of 
this order. 

Second. That on Wednesday, the 7th day of September, 
commencing at the hour of 12 noon, there shall be fired a salute 
of 100 guns at the arsenal at Washington, and at New York, 
Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Newport, Ky., Saint 
Louis, New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, Hilton Head, and New 
Berne, or the day after the receipt of this order, for the brilliant 
achievements of the army under command of Major-General 
Sherman in the State of Georgia, and the capture of Atlanta. 
The Secretary of War will issue directions for the execution of 
this order. Abraham Lincoln. 

President of the United States. 



The Union Occupation 617 

City Point, Va., September 4, 1864 — 9 p. m. 
Major-General Sherman : 

I have just received your dispatch announcing the capture 
of Atlanta. In honor of your great victory I have ordered a 
salute to be fired with shotted guns from every battery bearing 
upon the enemy. The salute will be fired within an hour amidst 
great rejoicing. U. S. Grant, 

Lieut enant-General. 

II. All the corps, regiments, and batteries composing this 
army may, without further orders, inscribe "Atlanta" on their 
colors. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, Aide-de-Camp. 

Accompanying the foregoing field orders, Sherman issued 
an address to his troops, praising their valor and fidelity and 
expressing his pride at being the commander of such a superb 
body of soldiers. In this address he expressed the view that the 
fall of Atlanta was brought about by Hood's detaching Wheeler's 
cavalry from his army and sending it on a fruitless railroad 
breaking expedition far to the rear. 

On the 7th of September, Sherman had established his 
headquarters in Atlanta. On that day he wrote to General 
Tyler, the commandant at Louisville, Ky., giving him a descrip- 
tion of the capture of Atlanta, and saying: "We have as the 
result of this quick and, as I think, well-executed movement, 27 
guns, over 3,000 prisoners ; have buried over 400 rebel dead, and 
left as many wounded that could not be moved. The rebels have 
lost, besides the important city of Atlanta, immense stores, at 
least 500 dead, 2,500 wounded, and 3,000 prisoners, whereas our 
aggregate [loss] will not foot up 1,500. If that is not success, 
I don't know what is." 

Sherman had decided to drive all civilians out of Atlanta, 
and he no sooner got in the town than he set about his prepara- 
tions to carry into effect that extraordinary determination. He 
communicated his intentions to Mayor Calhoun, asking him to 
send a committee of citizens to General Hood, bearing the fol- 
lowing letter, which was done under protest : 



618 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Hdqrs. Military Division of the Mississippi, 

In the Field, Atlanta, Ga., September y, 1864. 
General Hood, 

Commanding Confederate Army. 

General : — I have deemed it to the interest of the United 
States that the citizens now residing in Atlanta should remove, 
those who prefer it to go South and the rest North. For the 
latter I can provide food and transportation to points of their 
election in Tennessee, Kentucky, or farther north. For the for- 
mer I can provide transportation by cars as far as Rough and 
Ready, and also wagons; but that their removal may be made 
with as little discomfort as possible it will be necessary for you 
to help the families from Rough and Ready to the cars at Love- 
joy's. If you consent I will undertake to remove all families in 
Atlanta who prefer to go South to Rough and Ready, with all 
their movable effects, viz., clothing, trunks, reasonable furniture, 
bedding, etc., with their servants, white and black, with the 
proviso that no force shall be used toward the blacks one way or 
the other. If they want to go with their masters or mistresses 
they may do so, otherwise they will be sent away, unless they be 
men, when they may be employed by our quartermaster. Atlan- 
ta is no place for families or non-combatants and I have no desire 
to send them North if you will assist in conveying them South. 
If this proposition meets your views I will consent to a truce in 
the neighborhood of Rough and Ready, stipulating that any 
wagons, horses, or animals, or persons sent there for the purposes 
herein stated shall in no manner be harmed or molested, you in 
your turn agreeing that any cars, wagons, carriages, persons, or 
animals sent to the same point shall not be interfered with. 
Each of us might send a guard of, say, 100 men to maintain order, 
and limit the truce to, say, two clays after a certain time appoint- 
ed. I have authorized the mayor to choose two citizens to con- 
vey to you this letter and such documents as the mayor may 
forward in explanation, and shall await your reply. 

I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Sherman, 
Major-General, Commanding. 

(Sent by Messrs. Ball and Crew.) 



The Union Occupation 619 

To this communication Hood made prompt reply as follows : 

Headquarters Army and Department of Tennessee, 
Lovejoy's Station, Ga., Sept. 8 } 1864. 
To Major-General W. T. Sherman : 

Generals — Your letter of yesterday's date, borne by 
James M. Ball and James R. Crew, citizens of Atlanta, has been 
received. You say therein that you deem it to be best for the 
interests of the United States for the citizens residing in Atlanta 
to be removed, etc. I do not consider that I have any alternative 
in the matter. I accept the proposition to declare a truce for ten 
days, or such time as may be necessary to accomplish the purpose 
mentioned, and shall render all the assistance in my power to 
expedite the transportation of citizens in this direction. I sug- 
gest that a staff officer be appointed by you to superintend the 
removal to Rough and Ready, and I will appoint a like officer to 
control the removal further South; that a guard of 100 men be 
sent by each party as you propose, to maintain order at that place, 
and that the removal begin next Monday. 

And now, sir, permit me to say that the unprecedented 
measure you propose transcends, in studied and ingenious cruelty, 
all acts ever before brought to my attention in the dark history 
of this war. In the name of God and humanity, I protest, and 
believe you will find yourself wrong in thus expelling from their 
homes and firesides the wives and children of a brave people. I 
have the honor to be, general, 

Verv respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

J. B. Hood. 

Immediately upon receipt of Hood's reply, Sherman issued 
the following field orders, which involved the exile of the people 
of Atlanta and subsequently the destruction of the city : 

Special Hdqrs. Mil. Div. of the Mississippi, 
Field Orders, In the Field, Atlanta, Ga., 

No. 67. September 8, 1864. 

I. The city of Atlanta, being exclusively required for war- 
like purposes, will at once be vacated by all except the armies of 



620 Atlanta And Its Builders 

the United States and such civilian employes as may be retained 
by the proper departments of government. 

II. The chief quartermaster, Colonel Easton, will at once 
take possession of buildings of all kinds, and of all staple articles, 
such as cotton, tobacco, etc., and will make such disposition of 
them as is required by existing regulations, or such orders as he 
may receive from time to time from the proper authorities. 

III. The chief engineer will promptly reconnoiter the city 
and suburbs, and indicate the sites needed for the permanent de- 
fense of the place, together with any houses, sheds, or shanties 
that stand in his way, that they may be set apart for destruction. 
Colonel Easton will then, on consultation with the proper officers 
of the ordnance, quartermaster, commissary, medical, and rail- 
road departments, set aside such buildings and lots of ground as 
will be needed for them, and have them suitably marked and set 
apart. He will then, on consultation with Generals Thomas and 
Slocum, set apart such as may be necessary to the proper admin- 
istration of the military duties of the Department of the Cumber- 
land and of the post of Atlanta, and all buildings and materials 
not thus embraced will be held subject to the use of the govern- 
ment as may hereafter arise, according to the just rules of the 
quartermaster's department. 

IV. No general, staff, or other officers, or any soldier will 
on any pretense occupy any house or shanty, unless it be em- 
braced in the limits assigned as the camp of the troops to which 
such general or staff belongs, but the chief quartermaster may 
allow the troops to use boards, shingles, or materials of buildings, 
barns, sheds, warehouses, and shanties, not needed by the proper 
departments of government, to be used in the reconstruction of 
such shanties and bivouacs as the troops and officers serving with 
them require, and he will also provide as early as practicable the 
proper allowance of tents for the use of the officers and men in 
their encampments. 

V. In proper time just arrangements will be made for the 
supply to the troops of all articles they may need over and above 
the clothing, provisions, etc., furnished by government, and on 
no pretense whatever will traders, manufacturers, or sutlers be 
allowed to settle in the limits of fortified places, and if these 
manage to come in spite of this notice, the quartermaster will 



The Union Occupation 621 

seize their stores and appropriate them to the use of the troops, 
and deliver the parties or other unauthorized citizens who thus 
place their individual interests above that of the United States, 
in the hands of some provost-marshal, to be put to labor on the 
forts or conscripted into one of the regiments or batteries already 
in service. 

VI. The same general principles will apply to all military 
posts south of Chattanooga. 

By order of Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman: 

L. M. Dayton, Aidc-dc-Camp. 

The same day Mayor Calhoun, acting upon Sherman's re- 
quest, issued a proclamation to the citizens of Atlanta, notifying 
them of the removal orders and informing them of the arrange- 
ments made for their transportation North or South, as individ- 
uals might elect. This proclamation was printed on hand bills 
and put in every house in the city and pasted on every dead wall 
and in public places. It read, under the head of "Notice" in 
large type: 

Atlanta, Ga., September 8, 1864. 
To the Citizens of Atlanta : 

Major-General Sherman instructs me to say to you that you 
must all leave Atlanta ; that as many of you as want to go North 
can do so, and that as many as want to go South can do so, and 
that all can take with them their movable property, servants in- 
cluded, if they want to go, but that no force is to be used, and 
that he will furnish transportation for persons and property as 
far as Rough and Ready, from whence it is expected General 
Hood will assist in carrying it on. Like transportation will be 
furnished for people and property going North, and it is re- 
quired that all things contemplated by this notice will be carried 
into execution as soon as possible. 

All persons are requested to leave their names and number 
in their families with the undersigned as early as possible, that 
estimates may be made of the quantity of transportation re- 
quired. James M. Calhoun, Mayor. 

As might be expected, every effort that could be made by 
persuasion was exerted by the leading citizens to induce Slier- 




Edward E. Rawson 



The Union Occupation 623 

man to modify his harsh orders. It was pointed out to him 
that much suffering and hardship would result from their execu- 
tion, particularly among the women, children, aged and invalids. 
Mayor Calhoun joined earnestly in the protest, he and two of 
the councilmen, E. E. Rawson and L. C. Wells, addressing a 
communication to General Sherman, pleading that the citizens 
be allowed to remain, or that, at least, the orders of expatriation 
be modified more in the interest of humanity. Sherman re- 
plied in a kindly vein, but did not yield to the prayers of the 
people in any particular. He said he would see that nobody 
suffered any hardship or mistreatment of any kind while under 
his jurisdiction, and that the removal would be made in an 
orderly and comfortable way. He declared to revoke his or- 
ders was out of the question ; that they had been issued in view 
of the humanities of the situation, but to prepare for the continu- 
ance of the great struggle at arms, in which "millions of people 
were interested — millions of good people outside of Atlanta." 
Sherman's answers went on: "We must have peace; peace not 
only in Atlanta, but in all America; to secure peace we must 
stop the war, and to stop the war we must defeat the rebel armies 
that keep up the war. To defeat the rebel armies we must pre- 
pare to meet them in their fastnesses, and provide ourselves with 
arms and instruments which will enable us to accomplish our 
purpose. Now," he continued, "I know the vindictive charac- 
ter of our enemy, and that we may have many years for military 
operations from this quarter, and therefore deem it wise and 
prudent to prepare in time. The use of Atlanta for warlike 
purposes is inconsistent with its character as a home for fami- 
lies. There will be no manufactures, commerce or agriculture 
here for their support, and sooner or later want would compel 
the inhabitants to go ; and why not go now when all the arrange- 
ments are completed for their transfer, instead of waiting until 
the plunging shot of contending armies should renew the scenes 
of the past month? Of course, I do not apprehend anything 
of this kind at the present moment, but do you suppose that this 
army will be here till the war is over? I cannot discuss this 
subject with you fairly, because I cannot impart to you what I 
propose to do, but I assert that my military plans make it neces- 



624 Atlanta And Its Builders 

sary for the inhabitants to go away, and I can only renew my 
offer of services to make their exodus in any direction as easy 
and comfortable as possible. You cannot qualify war in harsher 
terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and 
those who brought war into this country, deserve all the curse 
and maledictions that a people can pour out. I know I had no 
hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices 
to-day than any of you, to secure peace; but you cannot have 
peace by a division of our common country. If the United 
States submits to a peace now, it will not stop, but will go on 
until we reap the fate of Mexico, and have eternal war." 

There was nothing to do but move, and beginning on the 
12th, the citizens of Atlanta, consisting mainly of women, chil- 
dren and old men, bundled their belongings into Sherman's 
army wagons and were driven to Rough and Ready. For sev- 
eral days the roads leading south were lined with wagons loaded 
with household goods and families. Pathetic scenes were wit- 
nessed as people born and reared in Atlanta, or who had spent 
the best years of their lives there, turned their backs on home 
and the sacred associations that clustered around it, to face un- 
known privations, poverty, and in many instances actual vaga- 
bondage. Most of the families, of course, went south. The 
Union element in Atlanta was small after the war had begun. 
As might be supposed, the number of people who had remained 
in Atlanta during the siege was comparatively small. Thou- 
sands had taken flight during the terrible summer months just 
passed. The official records show that 446 families were moved 
to Rough and Ready, consisting of 705 adults and 860 children. 
But 75 negro servants were taken along, nearly all of the 
negroes in the city, irrespective of age or sex, preferring to re- 
main with "Marse Lincum's sojers." The average amount of 
baggage transported with each family was 1,654 pounds. There 
was little friction or irregularity in the transfer of the emigrants 
from the Union to the Confederate lines, the truce being honor- 
ably maintained by the detachments sent by both armies to 
Rough and Ready. The soldiers, lately at bayonet's point, 
laughed and joked with each other and vied with each other in 
their efforts to be of service to the women and children. The 



The Union Occupation 625 

utmost good humor prevailed, but it is unnecessary to add that 
no great degree of happiness was manifested by the exiles. Few 
eyes among the women were not red from weeping and clouded 
with anxiety. As evidence of the harmonious relations be- 
tween the "Yankees" and "Johnnies" conducting the removal at 
Rough and Ready, Major Clare, the staff officer conducting 
General Hood's part of the agreement, addressed the following 
courteous note, days later, to Colonel Warner, Sherman's officer 
in charge at Rough and Ready : 

Rough and Ready, September 22, 1864. 
Colonel : Our official communication is about to cease. 
You will permit me to bear testimony to the uniform courtesy 
you have shown on all occasions to me and my people, and the 
promptness with which you have corrected all irregularities 
arising in our course. Hoping at some time to be able 
to reciprocate your positive kindness, I remain with respect, 
Your obedient servant, 

W. T. Clare, 
Major and A. G. Lt.-Gcn. Hood's Staff. 
To Lieut-Col. William Warner. 

For a fortnight after Sherman took possession of Atlanta, 
he was much concerned about Wheeler's movements in Tennes- 
see and daily urged Steedman and his other commanders to the 
rear to make short work of the dashing little cavalry chief of 
the Confederates. They do not seem to have made much head- 
way against him. The news of the killing of General John 
Morgan, at Greenville, Tenn., and the capture of a small part of 
his command, was commented on with great gratification by 
Sherman. On the 9th of September he wired General Halleck : 
"All our troops are now in position, comfortable and well. In 
a day or two I will have telegraphic communication from Ros- 
well round to Sandtown, and can act promptly. A few of the 
enemy's cavalry followed us as far as Rough and Ready, and 
last evening General Hood sent in a flag of truce asking to ex- 
change prisoners. I have about 2,000 in hand, and will ex- 
change if he will make a fair deal. I have sent out my inspec- 

40-1 



626 Atlanta And Its Builders 

tor-general to confer and agree, and to make arrangements for 
the exodus of citizens. I am not willing to have Atlanta en- 
cumbered by the families of our enemies. I want it a pure Gib- 
raltar, and will have it so by October 1. I think Generals Rous- 
seau and Steedman are stirring Wheeler up pretty well, and 
hope they will make an end of him, as Gillem has of Morgan. I 
have ordered renewed activity, and to show no mercy to guer- 
rillas or railroad breakers. It makes a world of difference if 
'my bull gores your ox, or yours mine.' Weather beautiful and 
all things seem bright." 

The Federal army at Atlanta settled down to make itself 
comfortable for a few weeks. Scores of houses, some of them 
among the handsome mansions of the city, were torn down and 
the lumber used for constructing shanties for the soldiers. The 
quarters were built in quite a regular and neat manner, on vacant 
spaces and the public square and park. The generals and other 
important officers made themselves exceedingly comfortable in 
the best buildings of the place, being waited on like princes by 
the negroes. Generals Logan and Blair returned to their 
homes on leave of absence, and many furloughs were granted. 
The defenses of Atlanta had been strengthened as soon as the 
Union army came up, and the lines were held ready for an as- 
sault from any quarter. The roads leading south were strongly 
picketed almost to the Confederate camps. What would Hood 
do next ? That was the question that Sherman was asking him- 
self as he kept close watch on his dogged antagonist at Love- 
joy's. The next blow was expected to be directed against the 
rear, and to make himself doubly strong in that quarter, Sher- 
man sent Thomas to Chattanooga to take command of that im- 
portant 'district, and General Corse was placed in command at 
Rome. 

While Hood was preparing for his winter campaign, he 
had Macon put in a better state of defense and exerted every 
effort to receive reinforcements. Few were available, however, 
Wheeler was ordered to return to the army, after paying his fare- 
well respects to Sherman's railroad in North Georgia. The bit- 
terest feeling existed between Hood and Hardee, and the latter 
renewed his repeated applications to be relieved. On the 8th of 



The Union Occupation 627 

September Hood telegraphed Bragg : "I suggest that all the 
reserves of Georgia, under General Cobb, be ordered to this 
army and the prisoners removed ; that Lieutenant-General Tay- 
lor be ordered to relieve General Hardee, bringing with him all 
the troops he can." 

Tn connection with the removal of the citizens of Atlanta, 
the report of Major Clare, of General Hood's staff, who super- 
intended the work on the part of the Confederates, is interesting, 
and it is hereto appended : 

Inspector-General's Office, Army of Tennessee. 

September 22, 1864. 

Colonel : I have the honor to make the following report 
in reference to the removal of the families from Atlanta under 
Major-General Sherman's (Federal Army) order of expulsion: 

Receiving verbal orders from General Hood on the evening 
of the nth to conduct the truce agreed upon between himself 
and Major-General Sherman, I started as soon as possible, reach- 
ing Rough and Ready at 7.30 on the morning of the 12th of 
September. Shortly after reaching there I met the command- 
ing officer of the Federal guard, and soon after Colonel Warner, 
of General Sherman's staff, the Federal truce officer. Having 
established with these officers the preliminaries of the truce and 
the manner in which it should be carried out, and made arrange- 
ments in regard to the guards, I awaited the arrival of the trains 
from Atlanta. (The inclosed report of the names of the fami- 
lies arriving, their number and the date of their arrival, will give 
all the information on these points.) Some delays or irregu- 
larities in regard to the arrival of the trains having occurred, I 
demanded of the Federal officer in charge the reason thereof and 
their correction. He informed me that every means of trans- 
portation were placed at the disposal of the citizens for the pur- 
pose of removing their families and effects. On sending for 
Mayor Calhoun and the committee of citizens charged with re- 
moving the people of Atlanta, I ascertained that his statement 
was correct. I had then only to urge upon the people, through 
the mayor, to come during the early days of the truce to guard 
against the accident of having too little transportation when the 



628 Atlanta And Its Builders 

truce was about to close. This advice they disregarded, and 
the consequence was suffering and inconvenience. This was, 
however, to no great extent. From Rough and Ready to 
Lovejoy's Station, I think I can safely say, under my orders, 
were moved as comfortably and safely as possible the unfor- 
tunate people who were driven from their homes. 

Receiving information from you that the government was 
being embarrassed by the heavy demands made upon the act- 
ing commissary of subsistence at Lovejoy's, I arranged with the 
Federal authorities to supply the exiles with five days' rations on 
their application to Colonel Le Due, quartermaster Twentieth 
Army Corps, at Atlanta. This, I was informed, was done. 
The apportionment of transportation among the different corps 
was made as you directed. On receiving your order I sent for 
Major Mason, the quartermaster in charge of the transportation 
reporting to me, and read the first as well as the supplemental 
order to him, and directed him to carry it out literally. This he, 
as well as Capt. John McLaughlin, his assistant, informed me 
had been done. 

Having been informed that six teamsters belonging to Cap- 
tain Clark's train had deserted while the train was at Rough and 
Ready, I made a formal demand for them of the Federal flag of 
truce officer. He assured me that they should be returned if 
found, at the same time stating to me that thirteen of the Fed- 
eral guard and teamsters had deserted to our lines. 

Too much praise cannot be bestowed upon Colonel Ander- 
son, in command of the guard from our army on duty at Rough 
and Ready, for the rigid discipline he at all times maintained. 

W. Clare, 
Major and Assistant Inspector-General. 
Col. E. J. Harvie, Inspector-General. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE DESTRUCTION OF ATLANTA 

Hood was ready in a fortnight. On the morning of the 
1 8th of September his army began to move in the direction of 
the West Point railroad, which the advance reached the follow- 
ing day. For several days the army remained near Palmetto, 
in line of battle, but Sherman did not accept the challenge. By 
the i st of October the army had effected a passage of the Chatta- 
hoochee at Moore's Ferry. The advance was continued to near 
Lost Mountain, the scene of the hard campaign under Johnston. 
In the meantime detachments had operated against the Western 
and Atlantic railroad, destroying some ten or fifteen miles be- 
tween Acworth and Big Shanty. On the 4th the garrison at 
the latter place, consisting' of 170 officers and men, was surren- 
dered to General Stewart, and the garrison at Acworth, num- 
bering 250, surrendered to General Loring. Hood believed 
that large Federal stores were at Allatoona, and on the 5th Gen- 
eral French confronted that stronghold, which was commanded 
by General Corse in person, and demanded its surrender. Corse 
refused, telling French he was prepared for the "needless effu- 
sion of blood" that the latter had expressed himself as desiring 
to avoid. The assault upon Allatoona and its brave defense by 
General Corse is a part of the heroic in history. It was during 
the unequal fight, when Corse was being pressed to the last ex- 
tremity, that his eyes caught the signal of Sherman from Kenne- 
saw Mountain: "Hold the fort; I am coming." The popular 
hymn of this title was based on the incident. 

Sherman followed close behind Hood with nearly all of his 
army, excepting Slocum's corps, which was left behind to hold 
Atlanta. Of the movements of his army during the next few 
days, General Hood says : "On the 6th my army reached Dal- 

629 



630 Atlanta And Its Builders 

las ; our right rested at New Hope Church, where intelligence 
was received that the enemy was advancing from Lost Moun- 
tain. From Dallas we marched to Coosaville, ten miles south- 
west of Rome, via Van Wert, Cedartown, and Cave Spring. At 
the latter place Major-General Wheeler, with a portion of his 
command, joined me from Tennessee. We arrived at Coosa- 
ville on the 10th." 

The rest of the movements of the opposing armies, as they 
concern the Atlanta campaign, is thus briefly told by General 
Sherman : "I followed Hood, reaching Kennesaw Mountain 
in time to see in the distance the attack on Allatoona, which was 
handsomely repulsed by Corse. Hood then moved westward, 
avoiding Rome, and by a circuit reached Resaca, which he sum- 
moned to surrender, but did not wait to attack. He continued 
thence the destruction of the railroad for about twenty miles to 
the tunnel, including Dalton, whose garrison he captured. I fol- 
lowed up to Resaca, then turned west to intercept his retreat 
down the valley of Chattooga ; but by rapid marching he escaped 
to Gadsden, on the Coosa, I halting at Gaylesville, whence to ob- 
serve his further movements. Hood, after a short pause, crossed 
the mountains to Decatur, on the Tennessee river, which point, 
as it was defended by a good division of troops, he avoided, and 
finally halted opposite Florence, Alabama, on the Tennessee 
river. Divining the object of his movements against our com- 
munications, which had been thus far rapid and skillful, I de- 
tached by rail General Schofield and two of my six corps to 
Nashville, all the reinforcements that Thomas deemed necessary 
to enable him to defend Tennessee, and began my systematic 
preparations for resuming the offensive against Georgia. Re- 
pairing the broken railroads, we collected in Atlanta necessary 
food and transportation for 60,000 men, sent to the rear all im- 
pedimenta, called in all detachments, and ordered them to march 
for Atlanta, where by November 4th were assembled four infan- 
try corps, one cavalry division, and 65 field-guns, aggregating 
60,598 men. Hood remained at Florence, preparing to invade 
Tennessee and Kentucky, or to follow me. We were prepared for 
either alternative.'' 

The remainder of Hood's operations belong to the Nash- 
ville campaign, which ended more disastrously for the Confed- 



The Destruction Of Atlanta 



631 



erate cause than the Atlanta campaign, so far as the destruction 
of the Southern army was concerned. Sherman, with about 
one-half of his original army, returned to Atlanta and began his 
preparations for his famous inarch to the sea, which was begun 
as soon as he was certain that Hood's plans contemplated the in- 
vasion of Tennessee and had little further to do with Georgia. 
When all was ready, Sherman moved out of Atlanta, leaving 




View from the Capitol dome 
From an old photo 

Slocum's corps to bring up his rear after it had destroyed well 
nigh all that was left of Atlanta. On the crisp, clear day of 
mid-November that the last blue-coat filed out of the city, the 
countrymen for miles in the vicinity watched a dense pillar of 
smoke ascending high above Atlanta and obscuring the heavens. 
There was no exploding of ammunition, as on the occasion of 



632 Atlanta And Its Builders 

Hood's evacuation, but it was evident the work of ruin being 
done was infinitely greater. In truth, the torch had been ap- 
plied to the practically depopulated city. Having no further 
use for the place as a military base, Sherman was determined 
that it should be of no use to the Confederacy, and to make cer- 
tain that no incentive remained to reoccupy it, he left it in ruins. 
It has been denied that Sherman burned Atlanta, as it has been 
denied that he bombarded Atlanta. There were a number of 
citizens still lingering in the city who witnessed the work of in- 
cendiarism. 

General W. P. Howard, of the Georgia state troops, who 
entered Atlanta immediately after its evacuation by the Federals, 
made the following report to Governor Brown, descriptive of 
the work of ruin left in Sherman's wake : 

"Every species of machinery that was not destroyed by fire 
was most ingeniously broken and thus made worthless. And 
of all the steam boilers, switches, frogs, etc., nothing escaped. 
In the angle of Hunter street commencing at the city hall, and 
running east, and on McDonough street, running south, all 
houses were destroyed. The jail and calaboose were burned. 
All business houses, except those on Alabama street, commenc- 
ing with the City Hotel, running east to Loyd street, were 
burned. All the hotels except the Gate City Hotel were burned. 
The estimate was that out of 3,800 houses only 400 were left 
standing within the city limits, and when those outside the cor- 
porate limits of the city were taken into account it was estimated 
that the Federal army destroyed in and about Atlanta about 
4,500 houses. 

"Two-thirds of the shade trees in the city park and of the 
timber in the suburbs were destroyed. The Masonic Hall was not 
burned, but the corner-stone was marred. The city hall was dam- 
aged but not destroyed. The Second Baptist, Second Presbyterian, 
Trinity M. E., and the Catholic churches and all the residences ad- 
jacent, between Mitchell and Peters streets, running southeast, 
and between Loyd and Washington streets, running southeast, 
were safe. The saving from destruction of this large block of 
property was all attributed to Rev. Father O'Reilly, of the 
Roman Catholic Church, there being a large number of Roman 



The Destruction Of Atlanta 633 

Catholics in the Federal army, who sympathized with their fel- 
low Catholics in Atlanta, who were in danger of losing their 
fine property here, and who used their efforts toward saving it, 
and as to destroy any property in the vicinity would endanger 
the existence of the Roman Catholic Church and parsonage, all 
the above described property was left unharmed. The Protest- 
ant Methodist, the African, and the Christian Churches were all 
destroyed. All other churches were saved. The Atlanta 
Medical College was saved by Dr. D'Alvigney, who was left in 
charge of the wounded. The Female College was torn down 
for the brick with which it was designed to erect winter quar- 
ters. All institutions of learning were destroyed. Roderick 
Badger, the negro dentist, and his brother, Robert Badger, a 
train hand on the West Point and La Grange Railroad, both of 
whom were well known to the citizens of Atlanta, were assistant 
professors to three philanthropic northmen in the instruction of 
the African race in the African Church, which had been convert- 
ed into an institution of learning. Many of the finest houses 
which were left standing were occupied by people who had never 
lived in such elegant style. They had fine furniture, carpets, 
pianos, mirrors, etc., etc., to which they had always heretofore 
been wholly unaccustomed. There were about fifty families that 
remained in the city during its occupancy by the Federal army. 
"Peachtree street was burned from the center of the city 
to Wesley Chapel. Hunnicutt's drug store was a heap of ruins, 
as was the commission house that stood beside it. In Johnson's 
marble works there was left but one small wooden shed. Pro- 
ceeding northward, where there had stood a number of buildings 
that were three stories high above the cellars, in which most of 
the business had been transacted before the war, there was noth- 
ing but a mass of ruins. On this street the second building left 
standing was a wooden one owned by Dr. Tucker of Penfield. 
The mansions of Sasseen and Judge Ezzard were left standing. 
Wesley Chapel remained, but it was horribly desecrated. Above 
Wesley Chapel, Peachtree street had suffered but little. From 
Rail's store, to the residence of Mrs. Luckie, all the dwellings re- 
mained except Mr. Ripley's, Mr. Grubb's, Rev. Mr. Pinkerton's, 
and a house belonging to J. R. Wallace. On Marietta street, 



634 Atlanta And Its Builders 

all the business houses were destroyed, but after leaving these 
no house on either side was completely destroyed for an entire 
block, and as far as the residence of Mr. Goode, which was 
standing. After passing this house, the torch had been applied 
to all the buildings on the street, its entire length, with the ex- 
ception of the residences of Rean, Mills, and Mrs. Sower's, and 
a few insignificant structures in the neighborhood of the sword 
factory, which was destroyed, as were the button factory and the 
grist-mill. 

"Whitehall street in its entire length, from Roak's corner 
to Captain Cask-ill's residence, which was left standing, was en- 
tirely destroyed. Fully one-half of the business houses of At- 
lanta were included in this space, and the ruin was complete. It 
was at first a matter of surprise that the block on Whitehall 
street, bounded on the north by Mitchell street and on the south 
by Peters street, should have escaped destruction ; but an old man 
named Baker was at the time in the agonies of death, and this 
fact being reported to the proper authorities, saved the block. 
The Masonic Hall was saved by the mystic signs and the sym- 
bols of the brotherhood. For three hundred yards on Decatur 
street, beginning where stood the Christian church, and ending 
with the spot where the government armory stood, all the private 
residences were left standing. After passing this space and pro- 
ceeding in the direction of Decatur for some three miles, all the 
houses were burned with two or three trifling exceptions. Among 
these destroyed was the fine residence of General L. J. Gartrell. 

"On the street in the rear of the Trout house every house 
was burned. On Butler street only one or two houses were de- 
stroyed, and on Calhoun street all were left standing except 
Joseph Barnes's and a brick house adjoining. On Houston 
street every house was destroyed from Mrs. Williamson's east, 
which remained, except Bob Yancey's, Colonel Whitaker's and 
Mr. Johnson's. From Mrs. Williamson's to Peachtree all were 
left standing. On Ivy street the destroyed houses were A. M. 
Wallace's, and all the rest on the same block, E. B. Walker's, 
Joseph Wyly's, Cleveland's and the house on the corner of Ivy 
and Houston streets. On Pryor street all were left standing 
from Alabama to Rawson's, except the Kilby boarding-house and 



The Destruction Of Atlanta 635 

a house C. C. Henley lived in. From Rawson's all were de- 
stroyed except the one built by Mr. Coleman. On Washington 
street all were left standing except that of Mr. D. F. Inman, the 
one adjoining and the two opposite. On Crew street all were 
standing except that built by E. E. Rawson, one occupied by T. 
M. Richardson, one owned by T. S. Stoy, one by Mrs. Enright, 
and one built by E. Buice. On MacDonough street, from the 
city hall to Bell's house, all were standing, except those of J. M. 
Clark, James Morris, and William and B. T. Lamb. From Mr. 
Ball's all out were destroyed. On Hunter street all were stand- 
ing except Reed's, Browning's and and an old house occupied as 
a hospital. On Fair street all were standing except two owned 
by Marshal Jones and J. R. Jones and the offices of Dr. Hardin 
and Mr. Grant." 

The charred walls of Atlanta were yet warm when scores 
of her exiled citizens returned to set manfully to work to restore 
the city to its former greatness. Among the early arrivals were 
Mayor Calhoun, Marshal Jones, Dr. Alexander, Colonel J. W. 
Duncan, Colonel Cowart, Judge Butt, Perino Brown, Major 
Thompson, Major Bacon, Er Lawshe, Dr. Simmons, Messrs. L. 
S. Salmon, Peck, Purtell and J. T. Porter. The foregoing 
arrived before December 10th. Judge Jared I. Whitaker, pub- 
lisher of the Intelligencer, arrived with his family December 
15th. Of the others who returned during December were Col. 
N. J. Hammond. Rev. H. C. Hornady, A. K. Seago, Colonel G. 
W. Lee, W. W. Roark, Judge C. M. Strong, Captain Hubbard, 
W. P. Howard, and others. Mr. Howard had been sent to At- 
lanta by Governor Brown to take charge of the valuable prop- 
erty in the city belonging to the state. On the 25th of Decem- 
ber the first sermon after the destruction of the city was preached 
in the First Baptist Church by Rev. H. C. Hornady. 

Speaking of the condition of Atlanta after Sherman had 
passed on, Historian E. Y. Clarke says: "November 16th 
Sherman commenced his march to the sea. Before doing so, 
however, the destruction of the city was completed. What 
could not be consumed by fire was blown up, torn down, or 
otherwise destroyed. No city during the war was so nearly 
annihilated. The center of the city, or business locality, was 



6 3 6 



Atlanta And Its Builders 



an entire mass of ruins — there being but a solitary structure 
standing on the main street, Whitehall, between its extreme com- 
mercial limits. At least three-fourths of the buildings in the 
city were destroyed, the remaining" number consisting chiefly of 
dwelling houses. The very few buildings of any consequence 
spared in the general ruin were saved through intercession, con- 
tingency or accident. Rev. Father O'Reilly was instrumental 
in saving the Catholic and several Protestant church edifices, and 




The old Slave Market, war time view 

(Picture shows west side of Whitehall St., where is now 
located the Whitehall-Peachtree Viaduct) 



also the city hall. The medical college was saved through the 
efforts of Dr. N. D'Alvigny. Atlanta was thus left a scene of 
charred and desolate ruins, the home of half-starved and half- 
wild dogs, and of carrion fowls feasting upon refuse, and the 
decaying carcasses of animals. Such was the spectacle that 
greeted the eyes of Er Lawshe and other citizens who returned 
to the city in December, 1864." 

A small detachment of Confederate and state troops occu- 



The Destruction Of Atlanta 637 

pied Atlanta early in December. The following orders issued 
by the officers on assuming command in the city are interesting : 

Provost-Marshal's Office, 
Atlanta, Ga,, December 5th, '6i. 
Special Orders No. 1. 

In pursuance of Special Orders No. 4, headquarters military 
district of Georgia, I have assumed the duties of provost-marshal 
of this post. 

Thomas L. Dodd, Captain and Provost-Mar. 



Macon, Ga., November 26, 1864. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Luther J. Glenn, of Cobb's Legion, is 
assigned to the command of the post of Atlanta, Ga. This 
order to date from the 24th instant. 

Major-General Howell Cobb. 



Headquarters Military Post, 

Atlanta, Ga,, Dec. 2, 1864. 
General Orders No. i. 

In obedience to the above order, the undersigned hereby 
assumes command of this post. 

L. J. Glenn, Lieutenant-Colonel, Command, 



The commander of the Fulton county militia issued the fol- 
lowing order : 

Atlanta, December 8, 1864. 

In obedience to the proclamation of Governor Brown of the 
19th ultimo, all persons in Fulton county between the ages of six- 
teen and fifty-five are subject to military duty, except those who 
are exempted in the proclamation. All who are subject will 
report at the city hall without delay, at Judge Manning's office 
for further orders. Z. A. Rice, 

Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding. 

As the winter advanced and it was seen that there was very 
little likelihood of the Federals returning to northwest Georgia, 
the banished Atlantans returned in increasing numbers, and by 
spring a steady stream of people was pouring into the city, in- 



6 3 8 



Atlanta And Its Builders 



chiding a great many strangers. The people lost no time in 
repining. The ruin that confronted them was calculated to de- 
press the spirits and discourage effort, but it only served to spur 
Atlanta's builders with renewed energy and enterprise. Gen- 
tlemen of the old regime who never knew what it was to perform 
manual labor, stripped their coats and set to knocking the dead 
mortar off the bricks in the debris that was once their buildings, 
preparatory to rebuilding. Men like Judge John Collier mixed 
mortar and laid brick. There were no idlers in the Phoenix- 



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Marshal "Tim" Murphy Er Lashe 

First building erected on Whitehall st. after Gen. Sherman's de- 
parture in 1865 

Built for Er Lawshe, using lumber previously utilized by Federal army for 
soldiers' huts on one of Mr. Lawshe's vacant lots, where now are South- 
ern R. R. shops 

like city, and no labor was too hard or menial for any Atlantan 
to set his hand to. The men were no pluckier than the women. 
Deprived of their servants, in the majority of instances, society 
ladies performed their duty with right good will in kitchen and 
garden. This spirit of never-say-die brought about the restora- 
tion of the Gate City in a remarkably short time. At first, of 
course, the houses were cheaply and temporarily constructed, 
hundreds of mere shanties springing up on the business thor- 
oughfares. Almost any kind of a structure answered for a 



The Destruction Of Atlanta 639 

place of shelter and in which to do business for the first few 
months after the fiery passing of Sherman. The Atlantans had 
not lost their commercial instinct, by any means, and it is surpris- 
ing what a lively business town Atlanta was by the first of Janu- 
ary, 1865, in spite of Confederate currency and universal pov- 
erty. Nearly all of the former merchants returned with their 
stocks which had been shipped to places of safety, or bought new 
stocks, and many new enterprises w r ere started. On the first 
Sunday in April church services were being held regularly in 
five of the leading churches, and several Sunday-schools had 
nearly their usual quota of pupils. 

Then came the sad tidings of Lee's surrender. Nobody 
believed the news at first, and when it was confirmed, many 
pluckily declared they were glad Atlanta was not in Lee's depart- 
ment and had not yet been surrendered. But Johnston's sur- 
render to the Sherman that Atlanta knew so well occurred on 
the 26th of April, and Atlanta was in the department com- 
manded by Johnston. It was but a few days until the well- 
remembered blue coats of United States regulars were to be seen 
on the streets of Atlanta, and the stars and stripes had replaced 
the stars and bars on the public buildings. 

Apropos of the return of Atlanta to United States jurisdic- 
tion, the following official orders will interest many readers : 

Kingston, Ga., May 4, 1865. 

All officers and soldiers of my command, and all officers of 
the Confederate army in North Georgia who have not been 
paroled, will report to me at this place by the 12th instant, or as 
soon thereafter as practicable, for the purpose of receiving their 
paroles. 

The utmost limit being the 20th, all officers and soldiers 
enumerated above who shall not have reported by that time, will 
be considered as refusing to comply with this order, and will be 
regarded and treated as outlaws by the authorities of the United 
States, as will be seen by reference to the following communica- 
tion addressed to me by General Judah, commanding United 
States forces : W. T. Wofford, 

Brigadier-General Commanding. 



640 



Atlanta And Its Builders 



Headquarters United States Forces, 

Rcsaca, Ga,, May 2, 1865. 
Brigadier-General W. T. Wofford, Commanding Confeder- 
ate Forces, North Georgia : 

General: — Under the surrender of yourself and forces of 
this date, I will parole all Confederate officers and soldiers whom 




Peachtree Street, from the R. R. tracks 
(Supposed to have been photographed after the war) 



you report to me as such, and all within your jurisdiction who do 
not report to you for that purpose will be regarded by the United 
States authorities as outlaws, and treated as such. 
Very respectfully your obedient servant, 

H. M. Judah. 



The Destruction Of Atlanta 64] 

Headquarters Cavalry Corps, M. 1). M. 

Macon, Ga., May ;, 1X65. 
Special ( )rder No. 68. 

Under the provisions of the convention agreed upon be- 
tween Major-General Sherman and Lieutenant-' ieneral John- 
ston, Colonel B. H. Eggleston, First Ohio Cavalry, is designated 
to receive the surrender of the Confederate troops at Atlanta, 
Ga. He will proceed to that point without delay, to carry out 
the terms of the convention. By command of 

Brevet Major-General Wilson. 
E. B. Beaumont, Major and A. A. G. 



Headquarters Military Post, 

Atlanta, Ga., May 4, 1865. 
Special Order No. $2. 

In conformity with the convention made by (ieneral John- 
ston, C. S. A., and Major-General Sherman, U. S. A., and in 
compliance with the order of the former, I this day turn over 
the command of this military post to Colonel B. B. Eggleston, 
U. S. A. L. J. Glenn, Lt. Col., C. S. A. 



Special Order No. 1. Headquarters U. S. Forces, 

Atlanta, Ga., May 4, 186 5. 
In obedience to special orders No. 68, headquarters C. C. M. 
D. M., Macon, Ga., May 3, 1865, I hereby assume command of 
the military post at Atlanta, Ga. 

B. B. Eggleston, Col. O. V. C 

Commanding Post. 



Headquarters U. S. Forces, 

Atlanta, Ga., May 5, 1865. 
Special Orders No. 2. 

All persons in and about Atlanta, Ga., in possession of in- 
toxicating liquors of any kind, are hereby prohibited from sell- 
ing or giving the same to any soldier, whatever, under penalty 
of forfeiture of all liquors found in their possession. 

Bv Order of B. B. Eggleston. 



41-1 



642 Atlanta And Its Bn/Idcrs 

Headquarters U. S. Forces, 

Atlanta, Ga., May 5, 1865. 
Captain William G. Lawder, First Ohio Cavalry, is hereby 
assigned as provost-marshal of this post, and he will be obeyed 
and respected accordingly. B. B. Eggleston. 



The people of Atlanta accepted the situation philosophically. 
They were too busy to talk politics or exhibit resentment. The 
Federal authorities got along very well with the citizens and did 
nothing to incur their displeasure. On May nth the Intelli- 
gencer said editorially : 

"Colonel Eggleston, commandant of this post, and Captain 
Lawder, provost-marshal, perform their duties in a highly satis- 
factory manner. No soldier, of either Lee's or Johnston's army, 
has any complaint to make. All that they need from the post com- 
missary or quartermaster's departments are freely given, and more 
than they ask. Deportment like this is too commendable to pass 
unnoticed, and it is hoped that the citizens will know how to 
appreciate and demean themselves accordingly." 

On the 13th Colonel Eggleston issued an order to the effect 
that any negro found within the limits of the city without a pass 
would be arrested and placed in confinement. Former owners 
or employers of negroes were required to furnish them with the 
necessary passes. 

Some well-known ladies of Atlanta made a beautiful silk 
United States flag, which was for the first time raised over the 
city at half-mast in respect to President Lincoln, assassinated on 
the 14th of April by John Wilkes Booth. After the flag was 
swung to the breeze, the Fifth Iowa band played the Star- 
Spangled Banner in front of the post headquarters. Universal 
regret was expressed in Atlanta over the tragic fate that befell 
Lincoln. It was regarded as a sad blow to the South. 

With the ending of the war, hope actuated every arm to 
Herculean efforts for the upbuilding of the new Atlanta. How 
well the people of Atlanta succeeded in their cherished ambition 
to make the Gate City even a greater city than it had been before 
its destruction by the ruthless hand of Mars, will be seen in the 
succeeding volume. 



Appendix 



CHAPTER XLI 
Sherman's report 

Hdors. Military Division of the Mississippi, 

Atlanta, Ga., September 15, 1864. 

General : I have heretofore from day to day by telegraph kept 
the War Department and General-in-Chief advised of the progress of 
events, but now it becomes necessary to review the whole campaign 
which has resulted in the capture and occupation of the city of 
Atlanta. 

On the 14th day of March. 1864, at Memphis, Tenn., I received 
notice from General Grant, at Nashville, that he had been commis- 
sioned Lieutenant-General and Commander in Chief of the Armies 
of the United States, which would compel him to go East, and that 
I had been appointed to succeed him as commander of the Division 
of the Mississippi. He summoned me to Nashville for a conference 
and I took my departure the same day and reached Nashville, via 
Cario, on the 17th, and accompanied him on his journey eastward 
as far as Cincinnati. We had a full and complete understanding of 
the policy and plans for the ensuing campaign, covering a vast area 
of country, my part of which extended from Chattanooga to Vicks- 
burg. I returned to Nashville, and on the 25th began a tour of 
inspection, visiting Athens, Decatur, Huntsville, and Larkin's Ferry, 
Ala. ; Chattanooga, Loudon and Knoxville, Tenn. During this 
visit I had interviews with General McPherson, commanding the 
Army of the Tennessee, at Huntsville ; Major-General Thomas, 
commanding the Army of the Cumberland, at Chattanooga, and 
General Schofield, commanding the Army of the Ohio, at Knoxville. 
We arranged in general terms the lines of communication to be 
guarded, the strength of the several columns and garrisons, and 
fixed the 1st day of May as the time when all things should be 
ready. 

643 



O44 Appendix 

Leaving- these officers to complete the details of organization 
and preparation, I returned again to Nashville on the 2d of April, 
and gave my personal attention to the question of supplies. I found 
the depots at Nashville abundantly supplied, and the railroads in 
very fair order, and that steps had already been taken to supply cars 
and locomotives to fill the new and increased demand of the service, 
but the impoverished condition of the inhabitants of East Tennessee, 
more especially in the region around about Chattanooga, had forced 
the commanding officers of the post to issue food to the people. I 
was compelled to stop this, for a simple calculation showed that a 
single railroad could not feed the armies and the people too, and of 
course the army had the preference, but I endeavored to point the 
people to new channels of supply. At first my orders operated very 
hard, but the prolific soil soon afforded early vegetables, and ox- 
wagons hauled meat and bread from Kentucky, so that no actual 
suffering resulted, and I trust that those who clamored at the cruelty 
and hardships of the day have already seen in the results a perfect 
justification of my course. At once the store-houses at Chattanooga 
began to fill so that by the 1st of May a very respectable quantity of 
food and forage had been accumulated there, and from that day to 
this stores have been brought forward in wonderful abundance, with 
a surplus that has enabled me to feed the army well during the 
whole period of time, although the enemy has succeeded more than 
once in breaking our road for many miles at different points. 

During the month of April I received from Lieutenant-General 
Crant a map, with a letter of instructions, which is now at Nash- 
ville, but a copy will be procured and made a part of this report. 
Subsequently I received notice from him that he would move from 
his camp about Culpeper, Ya., on the 5th of May, and he wanted 
me to do the same from Chattanooga. My troops were still dis- 
persed, and the cavalry, so necessary to our success, was yet collect- 
ing horses at Nicholasville, Ky., and Columbia, Tenn. 

On the 27th of April I put all the troops in motion toward Chat- 
tanooga, and on the next day went there in person. My aim and 
purpose was to make the Army of the Cumberland 50,000 men, that 
of the Tennessee 35,000, and that of the Ohio 15,000. These figures 
were approximated, but never reached, the Army of the Tennessee 
failing to receive certain divisions that were still kept on the Missis- 
sippi River, resulting from the unfavorable issue of the Red River 
expedition. But on the 1st of May the effective strength of the 
several armies for offensive purposes was about as follows : 

Army of the Cumberland, Major-General Thomas command- 
ing: Infantry, 54,568; artillery, 2.377; cavalry, 3,828; total, 
60,773. Guns, 130. 

Army of the Tennessee, Major-General McPherson command- 



Sherman s Report 645 

ing: Infantry, 22,4^; artillery, 1,404; cavalry. 624; total, 24,465. 
(inns, 96. 

Army of the Ohio, Major-General Schofield commanding: In- 
fantry, [1,183; artillery, 679; cavalry, 1,097; total, 13,559. Guns, 
28. 

Grand aggregate: Troops, 98,797; guns, 254. 

About these figures have been maintained during the campaign, 
the number of men joining from furloughs and hospitals about com- 
pensating for the loss in battle and from sickness. 

These armies were grouped on the morning of May 6 as fol- 
lows : That of the Cumberland at and near Ringgold ; that of the 
Tennessee at Gordon's Mills, on the Chickamauga ; and that of the 
Ohio near Red Clay, on the * ieorgia line, north of Dalton. The 
enemy lay in and about Dalton, superior to me in cavalry 
(Wheeler's), and with three corps of infantry and artillery, viz: 
Hardee's, Hood's, and Polk's, the whole commanded by General 
Joe Johnston, of the Confederate Army. I estimated the cavalry 
under Wheeler at about 10,000, and the infantry and artillery about 
45,000 to 50,000 men. To strike Dalton in front was impracticable, 
as it was covered by an inaccessible ridge known as the Rocky Face, 
through which was a pass between Tunnel Hill and Dalton known 
as the Buzzard Roost, through which lay the railroad and wagon 
road. It was narrow, well obstructed by abatis, and flooded by 
water caused by dams across Mill Creek. Batteries also commanded 
it in its whole length from the spurs on either side, and more 
especially from a ridge at the farther end like a traverse directly 
across its d/bouche. It was, therefore, necessary to turn it. ( hi 
its north front the enemy had a strong line of works behind Mill 
Creek, so that my attention was at once directed to the south. In 
that direction I found Snake Creek ( rap, affording me a good prac- 
ticable way to reach Resaca, a point on the enemy's railroad line of 
communication, eighteen miles below Dalton. Accordingly I 
ordered General McPherson to move rapidly from his position at 
Gordon's Mills, via Ship's Gap, Villanow, and Snake Creek Gap 
directly on Resaca, or the railroad at any point below Dalton, and 
to make a bold attack. After breaking the railroad well he was 
ordered to fall back to a strong defensive position near Snake 
Creek, and stand ready to fall on the enemy's flank when he 
retreated, as I judged he would. During the movement General 
Thomas was to make a strong feint of attack in front, while General 
Schofield pressed down from the north. General Thomas moved 
from Ringgold on the 7th. occupying Tunnel Hill, facing the Buz- 
zard Roost Gap, meeting with little opposition, and pushing the 
enemy's cavalry well through the gap. General McPherson reached 
Snake Creek Gap on the 8th, completely surprising a brigade of 



646 Appendix 

cavalry which was coming" to watch and hold it, and on the 9th Gen- 
eral Schofield pushed down close on Dalton from the north, while 
General Thomas renewed his demonstration against Buzzard Roost 
and Rocky Face Ridge, pushing it almost to a battle. One division 
(General Newton's) of the Fourth Corps (General Howard's) 
carried the ridge, and turning south toward Dalton found the crest 
too narrow and too well protected by rock epaulements to enable 
him to reach the gorge or pass. Another division (General Geary's) 
of the Twentieth Corps (General Hooker's) also made a bold push 
for the summit to the south of the pass, but the narrow road as it ap- 
proached the summit was too strongly held by the enemy to be 
carried. This, however, was only designed as a demonstration, and 
worked well, for General McPhersori was thereby enabled to march 
within a mile of Resaca almost unopposed. He found Resaca too 
strong to be carried by assault, and although there were many good 
roads leading from north to south, endangering his left flank, from 
the direction of Dalton, he could find no road by which he could 
rapidly cross over to the railroad, and accordingly he fell back and 
took strong position near the east end of Snake Creek Gap. I 
was somewhat disappointed at the result, still appreciated the advan- 
tage gained, and on the 10th ordered General Thomas to send 
General Hooker's corps to Snake Creek Gap in support of General 
McPherson, and to follow with another corps (the Fourteenth, 
General Palmer's), leaving General Howard with the Fourth Corps 
to continue to threaten Dalton in front, while the rest of the army 
moved rapidly through Snake Creek Gap. 

On the same day General Schofield was ordered to follow by 
the same route, and on the nth the whole army excepting General 
Howard's corps and some cavalry left to watch Dalton, was in 
motion on the left side of Rocky Face Ridge for Snake Creek Gap 
and Resaca. The next day we moved against Resaca, General 
McPherson on the direct road, preceded by General Kilpatrick's 
cavalry. General Thomas to come up on his left, and General 
Schofield on his. General Kilpatrick met and drove the enemy's 
cavalry from a cross-road within two miles of Resaca, but received 
a wound which disabled him, and gave the command of his brigade 
to Colonel Murray, who according to his orders, wheeled out of the 
road, leaving General McPherson to pass. General McPherson 
struck the enemy's infantry pickets near Resaca and drove them 
within their fortified lines, and occupied a ridge of bald hills, his 
right on the Oostenaula, about two miles below the railroad bridge, 
and his left abreast the town. General Thomas came up on his left 
facing Camp Creek, and General Schofield broke his way through 
the dense forest to General Thomas' left. Johnston had left Dalton 
and General Howard entered it and pressed his rear. Nothing 



Sherman's Report 647 

saved Johnston's army at Resaca but the impracticable nature of the 
country, which made the passage of troops across the valley almost 
impossible. This fact enabled his army to reach Resaca from 
Dalton along the comparatively good road, constructed beforehand 
partly from the topographical nature of the country and partly from 
the foresight of the rebel chief. At all events, on the 14th of May, 
we found the rebel army in a strong position behind Camp Creek, 
occupying the forts at Resaca and his right on some high chestnut 
hills, to the north of the town. I ordered a pontoon bridge to be 
laid across the Oostenaula at Lay's Ferry in the direction of Calhoun ; 
a division of the Sixteenth Corps, commanded by General Sweeny, 
to cross and threaten Calhoun ; also, the cavalry division of General 
Garrard to move from its position at Villanow down towards Rome, 
to cross the Oostenaula and break the railroad below Calhoun and 
above Kingston, if possible, and with the main army I pressed 
against Resaca at all points. General McPherson got across Camp 
Creek, near its mouth, and made a lodgement close up to the enemy's 
works on hills that commanded, with short-range artillery, the rail- 
road and trestle bridge, and General Thomas pressing close along 
Camp Creek Valley threw General Hooker's corps across the head 
of the creek to the main Dalton road and down it close to Resaca. 
General Schofield came up close on his left, and a heavy battle 
ensued during the afternoon and evening of the 15th, during which 
General Hooker drove the enemy from several strong hills, captured 
a 4-gun battery and many prisoners. That night Johnston escaped, 
retreating south across the Oostenaula, and the next morning we 
entered the town in time to save the road bridge, but the railroad 
bridge was burned. The whole army started in pursuit, General 
Thomas directly on his heels, General McPherson by Lay's Ferry, 
and General Schofield by obscure roads to the left. We found in 
Resaca another 4-gun batter}' and a good lot of stores. 

General McPherson during the 16th got across at Lay's Ferry. 
General Thomas had to make some additional bridges at Resaca, 
but General Schofield had more trouble, and made a wide circuit to 
the left by Fite's and Field's Ferries across the Conesauga and 
Coosawattee Rivers, which form the Oostenaula. 

On the 17th all the armies moved south by as many different 
roads as we could find, and General Thomas had sent by my orders a 
division (General Jeft. C. Davis) along the west bank of the Ooste- 
naula to Rome. Near Adairsville we again found signs of the rebel 
army and of a purpose to fight, and about sunset of that day General 
Newton's division in the advance had a pretty sharp encounter with 
his rear guard, but the next morning he was gone, and we pushed 
on through Kingston to a point four miles beyond, where we found 
him again in force on ground comparatively open and well adapted 



648 Appendix 

to a grand battle. We made the proper dispositions. General 
Schofield approaching Cassville from the north, to which point 
General Thomas had also directed General Hooker's corps, and I 
had drawn General McPherson's arm}- from Woodland to Kingston 
to be in close support. 

( )n the 19th the enemy was in force about Cassville with strong 
forts, but as our troops converged on him he again retreated in the 
night-time across the Etowah River, burning the road and railroad 
bridges near Cartersville, but leaving us in complete possession of 
the most valuable country above the Etowah River. Holding Gen- 
eral Thomas' army about Cassville, General McPherson's about 
Kingston, and General Schofield's at Cassville Depot and toward 
the Etowah bridge, ! gave the army a few days' rest and also time 
to bring forward supplies for the next stage of the campaign. 

In the mean time General Jeff. C. Davis had got possession of 
Rome with its forts, some eight or ten guns of heavy caliber, and its 
valuable mills and foundries. We also secured possession of two 
good bridges across the Etowah River near Kingston, giving us the 
means of crossing toward the south. Satisfied that the enemy could 
and would hold us in check at the Allatoona Pass, I resolved, with- 
out even attempting it in front, to turn it by a circuit to the right, 
and, having supplied our wagons for twenty days' absence from our 
railroad, 1 left a garrison at Rome and Kingston, and on the 23rd put 
the army in motion for Dallas. ( ieneral MePherson crossed the Eto- 
wah at the mouth of Connasene Creek, near Kingston, and moved 
from his position to the south of Dallas via Van Wert. General 
Davis' division moved directly from Rome for Dallas via Van Wert. 
General Thomas took the road via Euharlee and Burnt Hickory, 
while General Schofield moved by other roads more to the east, aim- 
ing to come upon (ieneral Thomas' left, (ieneral Thomas' head of 
column skirmished with the enemy's cavalry about Burnt Hickory, 
and captured a courier with a letter of General Johnston's showing 
he had detected the movement and was preparing to meet us about 
Dallas. The country was very rugged, mountainous, and densely 
wooded, with few and obscure roads. 

( )n the 25th May Genera! Thomas was moving from Burnt 
Hickory for Dallas, his troops on three roads. General Hooker hav- 
ing the advance. When he approached the Pumpkin Vine Creek, on 
the main Dallas road, he found a respectable body of the enemy's 
cavalry at a bridge to his left. He rapidly pushed them across the 
creek, saving the bridge, though on fire, and followed out eastward 
about two miles, where he first encountered infantry, whose pickets 
he drove some distance, until he encountered the enemy's line of 
battle, and bis leading division, (ieneral Geary's, had a severe 
encounter, (ieneral Hooker's two other divisions were on other 



Shermans Report 649 

roads and Ik- ordered them in, although the road he was then follow- 
ing by reason of the presence of the enemy, led him north of Dallas 
about two miles. It was near 4 p. m. before General Hooker got 
his whole corps well in hand, when he deployed two divisions, and 
by my orders made a bold push to secure possession of a point known 
as the Xew Hope Church, where three roads met from Acworth. 
Marietta, and Dallas. Here a hard battle was fought, and the 
enemy was driven back to Xew Hope Church, but, having- hastily 
thrown up some parapets and a stormy, dark night having set in. 
General Hooker was unable to drive the enemy from these roads. 
By the next morning we found the enemy well entrenched substan- 
tially in front of the road leading from Dallas to Marietta. We 
were consequently compelled to make dispositions on a larger scale. 
General McPherson was moved up to Dallas, General Thomas was 
deployed against New Hope Church, and ( ieneral Schofield was 
directed toward our left, so as to strike and return the enemy's right. 
General Garrard's cavalry operated with General McPherson, and 
General Stoneman with General Schofield. General McCook looked 
to our rear. Owing to the difficult nature of the ground and dense 
forests it took us several days to deploy close to the enemy, when 1 
resolved gradually to work toward our left, and when all things were 
ready to push for the railroad east of Allatoona. In making our 
developments before the enemy about New Hope many severe, sharp 
encounters occurred between parts of the army, details of which will 
be given at length in the report of the subordinate commanders. 

( )n the 28th General McPherson was on the point of closing to 
his left on General Thomas, in front of New Hope Church, to enable 
me with the rest of the army to extend still more to the left, and to 
envelop the enemy's right, when suddenly the enemy made a bold and 
daring assault on him at Dallas. Fortunately our men had erected 
good breast-works, and gave the enemy a terrible and bloody repulse. 
After a few day's delay for effect, I renewed my orders to General 
McPherson to move to his left about five miles, and occupy General 
Thomas' position in front of Xew Hope Church, and Generals 
Thomas and Schofield were ordered to move a corresponding dis- 
tance to their left. This move was effected with ease and safety on 
the first of June, and by pushing our left well around we occupied 
the roads leading back to Allatoona and Acworth, after which I 
pushed General Stoneman's cavalry rapidly into Allatoona, at the 
east end of the pass. Both of these commands reached the points 
designated without trouble, and we thereby accomplished our real 
purpose of turning the Allatoona Pass. Ordering the railroad 
bridge across the Etowah to be at once rebuilt, I continued working 
by the left, and on the 4th of June had resolved to leave Johnston in 
his entrenched position at New Hope Church, and move to the rail- 



650 - Ippendix 

road about Acworth, when he abandoned his intrenchments, after 
which we moved readily to Acworth, and reached the railroad on the 
6th of June. 1 at once examined in person the Allatoona Pass, and 
found it admirably adapted to our use as a secondary base, and gave 
the necessary orders for its defense and garrison, and as soon as the 
railroad bridge was finished across the Etowah, our stores came 
forward to our camp by rail. 

At Acworth General Blair overtook us on the 8th of June with 
two divisions of the Seventeenth Corps that had been on furlough, 
and one brigade of cavalry. Colonel Long's, of Garrard's division, 
which had been awaiting horses at Columbia. This accession of 
force about compensated for our losses in battle, and the detachfhents 
left at Resaca, Rome, Kingston, and Allatoona. 

On the 9th of June our communications to the rear being secure 
and supplies ample, we moved forward to Big Shanty. Kenesaw, 
the bold and striking twin mountain, lay before us, with a high 
range of chestnut hills trending off to the northeast, terminating 
to our view in another peak called Brush Mountain. To our right 
was a smaller hill, called Pine Mountain, and beyond it in the dis- 
tance Lost Mountain. All these, though linked in a continuous 
chain, present a sharp, conical appearance, prominent in the vast 
landscape that presents itself from any of the hills that abound in 
that region. Kenesaw, Pine Mountain, and Lost Mountain form a 
triangle. Pine Mountain, the apex, and Kenesaw and Lost Moun- 
tain the base, covering perfectly the town of Marietta, and the rail- 
road back to the Chattahoochee. On each of these peaks the enemy 
had his signal station, the summits were crowned with batteries, and 
the spurs were alive with men busy in felling trees, digging pits, 
and preparing for the grand struggle impending. The scene was 
enchanting; too beautiful to be disturbed by the harsh clamor of 
war; but the Chattahoochee lay beyond, and I had to reach it. On 
approaching close to the enemy, I found him occupying a line full 
twelve miles long, more than he could hold with his force. General 
McPherson was ordered to move toward Marietta, his right on the 
railroad, General Thomas on Kenesaw and Pine Mountain, and Gen- 
eral Schofield off toward Lost Mountain ; General Garrard's cav- 
alry on the left, and General Stoneman on the right, and General 
McCook looking to our rear and communications. Our depot was 
at Big Shanty. 

By the nth of June our lines were closed up, and we made dis- 
positions to break the line between Kenesaw and Pine Mountains. 
General Hooker was on its right and front, General Howard on its 
left and front, and General Palmer between it and the railroad. 
During a sharp connonading from General Howard's right, or Gen- 
eral Hooker's left. General Polk was killed on the 14th, and on the 



Shermans Report 651 

morning of the 15th Tine Mountain was found abandoned by the 
enemy. Generals Thomas and Schofield advanced and found him 
again strongly entrenched along the line of rugged hills connecting 
Kenesaw and Lost Mountain. At the same time General McPherson 
advanced his line, gaining substantial advantage on the left. Push- 
ing our operations on the center as vigorously as the nature of the 
ground would permit, I had again ordered an assault on the center, 
when, on the 17th. the enemy abandoned Lost Mountain and the 
long line of admirable breast-works connecting it with Kenesaw. 
We continued to press at all points, skirmishing in dense forests of 
timber and across most difficult ravines, until we found him again, 
strongly posted and entrenched, with Kenesaw as his salient, his 
right wing thrown back so as to cover Marietta, and his left behind 
Noyes' Creek, covering his railroad back to the Chattahoochee. 
This enabled him to contract his lines and strengthen them accord- 
ingly. From Kenesaw he could look down upon our camps and 
observe every movement, and bis battery thundered away, but did us 
little harm on account of their extreme height, the shot and shell 
passing harmlessly over our heads, as we lay close up against his 
mountain town. During our operations about Kenesaw the 
weather was villainously bad, the rain fell almost continuously for 
three weeks, rendering our narrow wooded roads mere mud gullies, 
so that a general movement would have been impossible, but our men 
daily worked closer and closer to the entrenched foe, and kept up an 
incessant picket-firing galling him. Every opportunity was taken 
to advance our general lines closer and closer to the enemy — General 
McPherson watching the enemy on Kenesaw and working his left 
forward : General Thomas swinging as it were, on a grand left 
wheel, his left on Kenesaw, connecting with General McPherson, 
and General Schofield all the time working to the south and east, 
along the Sandtown road. 

( )n the 22(1, as General Hooker had advanced his line, with 
General Schofield on his right, the enemy (Hood's corps with 
detachments from the others) suddenly sallied and attacked. The 
blow fell mostly on General Willaims' division, of General Hooker's 
corps, and a brigade of General Hascall's division, of General Scho- 
field's army. The ground was comparatively open, and although the 
enemy drove in the skirmish line and an advanced regiment of Gen- 
eral Schofield sent out purposely to hold him in check until some 
preparations could be completed for his reception, yet when he 
reached our line of battle he received a terrible repulse, leaving his 
dead, wounded, and many prisoners in our hands. This is known 
as the affair of the Kolb House. Although inviting the enemy at 
all times to commit such mistakes, 1 could not hope for him to repeat 
them after the example of Dallas and the Kolb House, and upon 



652 Appendix 

studying- the ground I had no alternative in my turn but to assault 
his lines or turn his position. Either course had its difficulties and 
dangers, and I perceived that the enemy and our own officers had 
settled down into the conviction that I would not assault fortified 
lines. All looked to me to outflank. 

An army to be efficient must not settle down to a single mode 
of offense, but must be prepared to execute any plan which promises 
success. I wanted, therefore, for the moral effect to make a success- 
ful assault against the enemy behind the breastworks, and resolved 
to attempt it at that point where success would give the largest fruits 
of victory. The general point selected was the left center, because 
if 1 could thrust a strong head of column through at that point by 
pushing it boldly and rapidly two and one-half miles, it would reach 
the railroad below Marietta, cut off the enemy's right and center 
from its line of retreat, and then by turning on either part it could 
be overwhelmed and destroyed. Therefore, on the 24th of June, I 
ordered that an assault should be made at two points south of Kene- 
saw on the 27th, giving three days' notice for preparation and recon- 
naissance, one to be made near Little Kenesaw by General 
McPherson's troops, and the other about a mile farther south by 
General Thomas' troops. The hour was fixed and all the details 
given in Field orders, Xo. 28, of June 24. 

( )n the 27th of June the two assaults were made at the time and 
111 the manner prescribed and both failed, costing us many valuable 
lives, among those of Generals Harker and McCook, Colonel Rice 
and others badly wounded, our aggregate loss being nearly 3,000, 
while we inflicted comparatively little loss to the enemy, who lay 
behind his well- formed breastworks. Failure as it was, and for 
which I assume the entire responsibility, I yet claim it produced good 
fruits, as it demonstrated to General Johnston that 1 would assault 
and that boldly. And we also gained and held ground so close to 
the enemy's parapets that he could not show a head above them. It 
would not do to rest long under the influence of a mistake or failure, 
and accordingly General Schofield was working strong on the 
enemy's left, and on the 1st of July I ordered General McPherson to 
be relieved by General Garrard's cavalry in front of Kenesaw, and 
rapidly to throw his whole army by the right down to and threaten 
Xickajack Creek and Turner's Ferry, across the Chattahoochee, and 
I also pushed General Stoneman's cavalry to the river below 
Turner's. 

General McPherson commenced his movement the night of 
July 2d. and the effect was instantaneous. The next morning Kene- 
saw was abandoned, and with the first dawn of day I saw our 
skirmishers appear on the mountain top. General Thomas' whole 
line was then moved forward to the railroad and turned south in 



Shermans Report 653 

pursuit toward the Chattahoochee. In person I entered Marietta at 
8:30 in the morning, just as the enemy's cavalry vacated the place. 
General Logan's corps, of General McPherson's army, which had 
not moved far. was ordered hack to Marietta by the main road, and 
Generals McPherson and Schofield were instructed to cross Nficka- 
jack and attack enemy in flank and rear, and if possible to catch him 
in the confusion of crossing the Chattahoochee. But Johnston had 
foreseen and provided against all this, and had covered his movement 
well. He had intrenched a strong tete-de-pont at the Chatta- 
hoochee, with an advanced intrenched line across the road at Smyrna 
Camp-Meeting Ground, five miles below Marietta. Here General 
Thomas found him, his front covered by a good parapet and his 
flanks behind the Nickajack and Rottenwood Creeks. ( )rdering a 
garrison for Marietta and General Logan to join his own army near 
the mouth of Nickajack, I overtook General Thomas at Smyrna. 

( In the fourth of July we pushed a strong skirmish line down 
the main road, capturing the entire line of the enemy's pits, and 
made strong demonstrations along Nickajack Creek and about 
Turner's Ferry. This had the desired effect, and the next morning 
the enemy was gone and the army moved to the Chattahoochee, < ien- 
eral Thomas' left flank resting on it near Pace's Ferry, General 
McPherson's right at the mouth of Nickajack, and General Schofield 
in reserve. The enemy lay behind a line of unusual strength, 
covering the railroad and pontoon bridges and beyond the 
Chattahoochee. 

Heavy skirmishing along our whole front during the 5th dem- 
onstrated the strength of the enemy's position, which alone could be 
turned by crossing the main Chattahoochee River, a rapid and deep 
stream, only passable at that stage by the means of bridges, except 
one or two very difficult fords. To accomplish this result I judged 
it would be more easy of execution before the enemy had made more 
thorough preparation or gained full confidence, and accordingly I 
ordered General Schofield across from his position on the Sandtown 
road to Smyrna Camp Ground and next to the Chattahoochee, near 
the mouth of Soap Creek, and to effect a lodgement on the east 
bank. This was most successfully and skillfully accomplished on 
the 7th of July, General Schofield capturing a gun, completely sur- 
prising the guard, laying a good pontoon bridge and a trestle 
bridge, and effecting a strong lodgement on high and commanding 
ground with good roads leading" to the east. 

At the same time General Garrard moved rapidly on Roswell, 
and destroyed the factories which had supplied the rebel armies with 
cloth for years. Over one of these, the woolen factory, the nominal 
owner displayed the French flag, which was not respected, of course. 
A neutral surely is no better than one of our own citizens, and we 
do not permit our own citizens to fabricate cloth for hostile uses. 



654 Appendix 

General Garrard was then ordered to secure the shallow ford at 
Roswell and hold it until he could be relieved by infantry, and as I 
contemplated transferring the Army of the Tennessee from the 
extreme right to the left, I ordered General Thomas to send a divis- 
ion of his infantry that was nearest np to Roswell to hold the 
ford until General McPherson could send np a corps from the neigh- 
borhood of Nickajack. General Newton's division was sent and held 
the ford until the arrival of General Dodge's corps, which was soon 
followed by General McPherson's whole army. About the same 
time General Howard had also built a bridge at Powers' Ferry, two 
miles below. General Schofield had crossed over and taken position 
on his right. Thus during the 9th we had secured three good and 
safe points of passage over the Chattahoochee above the enemy, with 
good roads leading to Atlanta, and Johnston abandoned his tete-de- 
pont, burned his bridge, and left us undisputed masters north and 
west of the Chattahoochee at daylight of the 10th of July. This 
was one, if not the chief, object of the campaign, viz., the advance- 
ment of our lines from the Tennessee to the Chattahoochee ; but 
Atlanta lay before us, only eight miles distant, and was too impor- 
tant a place in the hands of the enemy to be left undisturbed, with 
its magazines, stores, arsenals, workshops, foundries, &c, and more 
especially its railroads, which converged there from the four great 
cardinal points, but the men had worked hard and needed rest and 
we accordingly took a short spell. But in anticipation of this con- 
tingency I had collected a well appointed force of cavalry, about 
2,000 strong, at Decatur, Ala., with orders on receiving notice by 
telegraph to push rapidly south, cross the Coosa at the railroad 
bridge, or the Ten Islands, and thence by the most direct route to 
Opelika. 

There is but one stem of finished railroad connecting the chan- 
nels of trade and travel between Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, 
which runs from Montgomery to Opelika, and my purpose was to 
break it up effectually and thereby cut off Johnston's army from 
that source of supply and re-enforcements. General Rousseau, com- 
manding the District of Tennessee, asked permission to command 
the expedition and receiyed it. As soon as Johnston was well across 
the Chattahoochee, and as I had begun to maneuver on Atlanta, I 
gave the requisite notice, and General Rousseau started punctually 
on the 10th of July. He fulfilled his orders and instructions to the 
very letter, whipping the rebel General Clanton en route. He passed 
through Talladega and reached the railroad on the 16th, about 
twenty-five miles west of Opelika, and broke it well up to that place, 
also three miles of the branch toward Columbus, and two toward 
West Point. He then turned north and brought his command 
safely to Marietta, arriving on the 22(1, having sustained a trifling 
loss, not to exceed 30 men. 



Sherman s Report 655 

The main armies remained quietly in the camps on the Chatta- 
hoochee until the 17th of July, but the time was employed in 
collecting stores at Allatoona, .Marietta and Vining's Station, 
strengthening the railroad guards and garrisons, and in improving 
the pier bridges and roads leading across the river. Generals 
Stoneman's and McCook's cavalry had scouted well down the river 
to draw attention in that direction, and all things being ready for a 
general advance. I ordered it to commence on the 17th, General 
Thomas to cross at Powers' and Pace's Fern bridges, and to march 
to Buckhead. General Schofield was already across at the mouth of 
Soap Creek, and to march to Cross Keys; and General McPherson 
to direct his course from Roswell straight against the Augusta road 
at some point east of Decatur near Stone Mountain. General Gar- 
rard's cavalry acted with General McPherson, and Generals Stone- 
man and McCook watched the river and roads below the railroads. 

On the 17th the whole army advanced from their camps and 
formed a general line along the old Peachtree road. Continuing on 
a general "right- wheel. General McPherson reached the Augusta 
railroad on the 18th, at a point seven miles east of Decatur, and with 
General Garrard's cavalry and General Morgan L. Smith's infantry 
division, of the Fifteenth Corps, broke up a section of about four 
miles, and General Schofield reached the town of Decatur. 

On the 19th General McPherson turned along the railroad into 
Decatur and General Schofield followed a road toward Atlanta, lead- 
ing off by Colonel Howard's house and the distillery, and General 
Thomas crossed Peachtree Creek in force by numerous bridges in 
the face of the enemy's intrenched line ; all found the enemy in more 
or less force and skirmished heavily. 

On the 20th all the armies had closed in, converging towards 
Atlanta, but as a gap existed between Generals Schofield and 
Thomas, two divisions of General Howard's corps, of General 
Thomas' army, was moved to the left to connect with General Scho- 
field, leaving General Newton's division of the same corps on the 
Buckhead road. During the afternoon of the 20th, about 4 p. m.. 
the enemy sallied from his works in force and fell in line of battle 
against our right center, composed of General Newton's division of 
General Howard's corps, on the main Buckhead road, of General 
Hooker's corps, next south, and General Johnson's division of Gen- 
eral Palmer's corps. This blow was sudden and somewhat unex- 
pected, but General Newton had hastily covered his front by a line 
of rail piles, which enabled him to meet and repulse the attack on 
him. General Hooker's whole corps was uncovered and had to 
fight on comparatively open ground, and it too, after a severe battle, 
drove the enemy back to his entrenchments, and the action in front 
of General Johnson was comparatively light, that division being 



656 Appendix 

well entrenched. The enemy left on the held over 500 dead, about 
1,000 wounded, 7 stand of colors, and many prisoners. His loss 
could not have fallen short of 5,000, whereas ours was covered by 
1,000 killed, wounded and missing. The greater loss fell upon 
General Hooker's corps from its exposed condition. 

On the 2 1 st we felt the enemy in his entrenched position, 
which was found to crown the heights overlooking the comparatively 
open ground of the valley of Peachtree Creek, his right beyond the 
Augusta road to the east, and his left well toward Turner's Ferry, 
on the Chattahoochee, at a general distance from Atlanta of about 
four miles. On the morning of the 22(1 somewhat to my surprise 
this whole line was found abandoned, and 1 confess I thought the 
enemy had resolved to give us Atlanta without further contest, but 
General Johnston had been relieved of his command and General 
Hood substituted. A new policy seemed resolved on, of which the 
bold attack on our right was the index. Our advancing ranks swept 
across the strong and well-finished parapets of the enemy and closed 
in upon Atlanta until we occupied a line in the form of a general 
circle of about two miles radius, when we again found him occupying 
in force a line of finished redoubts which had been prepared for 
more than a year, covering all the roads leading into Atlanta, and 
we found him also busy in connecting those redoubts with curtains, 
strengthened by rifle-trench abatis and chevaux-de-frise. 

General McPherson, who had advanced from Decatur, continued 
to follow substantially the railroad, with the Fifteenth Corps, General 
Logan; the Seventeenth, General Blair, on its left; and the Six- 
teenth, General Dodge, on its right, but as the general advance of all 
the armies contracted the circle, the Sixteenth Corps, General Dodge, 
was thrown out of line by the Fifteenth connecting on its right with 
( ieneral Schofield, near the Howard house. General McPherson the 
night before had gained a high hill to the south and east of the 
railroad, where the Seventeenth Corps had, after a severe fight, 
driven the enemy, and it gave him a most commanding position 
within easy view of the very heart of the city. He had thrown out 
working parties to it and was making preparations to occupy it in 
strength with batteries. The Sixteenth Corps, General Dodge's, 
was ordered from right to left to occupy this position and make it 
a strong general left flank. General Dodge was moving by a diago- 
nal path or wagon track leading from the Decatur road in the direc- 
tion of General Blair's left flank. About 10 a. m. I was in person, 
with General Schofield, examining the appearance 'of the enemy's 
line opposite the distillery, where we attracted enough of the enemy's 
fire of artillery and musketry to satisfy me the enemy was in 
Atlanta in force and meant to fight, and had gone to a large dwell- 
ing close bv, known as the Howard house, where General McPher- 



Shermans Report (^y 

son joined me. He described the condition of things on his flank 
and the disposition of his troops. 1 explained to him that if we 
met serious resistance in Atlanta, as present appearances indicated, 
instead of operating- against it by the left, 1 would extend to the 
right, and that I did not want him to gain much distance to the left. 
He then described the hill occupied by General Leggett's division, 
of ( ieneral 1 ilair's corps, as essential to the occupation of any ground 
to the east and south of the Augusta railroad on account of its 
commanding nature. I therefore ratified his disposition of troops, 
and modified a previous order I had sent him in writing to use ( ien- 
eral Dodge's corps, thrown somewhat in reserve by the closing up of 
our line, to break up railroad, and I sanctioned its going, as already 
ordered by (ieneral McPherson, to his left, to hold and fortify that 
position. The general remained with me until near noon, when 
some reports reaching us that indicated a movement of the enemy 
on the flank, he mounted and rode away with his staff. 

I must here also state that the day before I had detached ( ieneral 
Garrard's cavalry to go to Covington, on the Augusta road, forty- 
two miles east of Atlanta, and from that point to send detachments 
to break the two important bridges across the Yellow and Ulco- 
fauhachee Rivers, tributaries to the ( )cmulgee, and ( ieneral McPher- 
son had also left his wagon train at Decatur, under a guard of three 
regiments, commanded by Colonel (now General) Sprague. Soon 
after General McPherson had left me at the Howard house, as before 
described, I heard the sound of musketry to our left rear, at first 
mere pattering shots, but soon they grew in volume, accompanied 
with artillery, and about the same time the sound of guns was heard 
in the direction of Decatur. No doubt could be longer entertained 
of the enemy's plan of action, which was to throw a superior force 
on our left flank while he held us with his forts in front, the only 
question being as to the amount of force he could employ at that 
point. I hastily transmitted orders to all points of our center and 
right to press forward and give employment to all the enemy in his 
lines, and for General Schofield to hold as large a force in reserve as 
possible, awaiting developments. 

Not more than half an hour after General McPherson had left 
me, viz.. about 12:30 of the 22d, his adjutant-general, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Clark, rode up and reported that General McPherson was 
either dead or a prisoner; that he had ridden from me to General 
Dodge's column, moving as heretofore described, and had sent off 
nearly all his staff and orderlies on various errands and himself had 
passed into a narrow path or road that led to the left and rear of 
General Giles A. Smith's division, which was General Blair's extreme 
left ; that a few minutes after he had entered the woods a sharp 
volley was heard in that direction, and his horse had come out rider- 

42-1 



658 Appendix 

less having two wounds. The suddenness of this terrible calamity 
would have overwhelmed me with grief, but the living demanded 
my whole thoughts. 1 instantly dispatched a staff officer to General 
John A. Logan, commanding" the Fifteenth Corps, to tell him what 
had happened ; that he must assume command of the Army of the 
Tennessee, and hold stubbornly the ground already chosen, more 
especially the hill gained by General Leggett the night before. 
Already the whole line was engaged in battle. Hardee's corps had 
sallied from Atlanta, and by a wide circuit to the east had struck 
General Blair's left flank, enveloped it, and his left had swung 
around until it hit General Dodge's in motion. General Blair's line 
was substantially along the old line of rebel trench, but it was 
fashioned to fight outward. A space of wooded ground of nearly 
half a mile intervened between the head of General Dodge's column 
and General Blair's line, through which the enemy had poured, but 
the last order ever given by General McPherson was to hurry a 
brigade (Colonel Wangelin's) of the Thirteenth Corps across the 
railroad to occupy this gap. It came across on the double-quick 
and checked the enemy- While Hardee attacked in flank, Stewart's 
corps was to attack in front directly out from the main works, but 
fortunately their attack was not simultaneous. The enemy swept 
across the hill which our men were then fortifying, and captured the 
pioneer company, its tools, and almost the entire working party, and 
bore down on our left until he encountered General Giles A. Smith's 
division, of the Seventeenth Corps, who was somewhat in "air" and 
forced to fight first from one side of the old rifle parapets and then 
from the other, gradually withdrawing regiment by regiment so as 
to form a flank to General Leggett 's division, which held the apex 
of the hill, which was the only point deemed essential to our plans. 
General Dodge had caught and held well in check the enemy's right. 
and punished him severely, capturing" many prisoners. General 
Giles A. Smith had gradually given up the extremity of his line and 
formed a new one, whose right connected with General Leggett and 
his left refused, facing southeast. On this ground and in this order 
the men fought well and desperately for near four hours, checking 
and repulsing all the enemy's attacks. The execution on the enemy's 
ranks at the angle was terrible, and great credit is due both Generals 
Leggett and Giles A. Smith and their men for their hard and stub- 
born fighting. The enemy made no farther progress on that flank, 
and by 4 p. m. had almost given up the attempt. 

In the mean time Wheeler's cavalry, unopposed (for General 
Garrard was absent from Covington by my order), had reached Deca- 
tur and attempted to capture the wagon trains, but Colonel (now 
General) Sprague covered them with great skill and success, sending" 
them to the rear of ( Generals Schofield and Thomas, and not draw- 



Sherman s Report 659 

ing hack from Decatur until every wagon was safe, except three, 
which the teamsters had left, carrying off the mules. On our ex- 
treme left the enemy had taken a complete battery of 6 guns with 
its horses (Murray's) of the regular army as it was moving along 
unsupported and unapprehensive of danger in a narrow wooded road 
in that unguarded space between the head of General Dodge's col- 
umn and the line of battle on the ridge above, but most of the men 
escaped to the bushes ; he also got 2 other guns on the extreme left 
flank that were left on the ground as General Giles A. Smith drew 
off his men in the manner heretofore described. 

About 4 p. m. there was quite a lull, during which the enemy 
felt forward on the railroad and main Decatur road, and suddenly as- 
sailed a regiment which, with a section of guns, had been thrown 
forward as a kind of picket, and captured the 2 guns. He then ad- 
vanced rapidly and broke through our lines at this point, which 
had been materially weakened by the withdrawal of Colonel Mar- 
tin's brigade sent by General Logan's order to the extreme left. 
The other brigade. General Lightburn's. which held this part of the 
line, fell back in some disorder about 400 yards to a position held 
by it the night before, leaving the enemy for a time in possession 
of two batteries, one of which, a 20-pounder Parrott battery of four 
guns, was most valuable to us, and separating General Woods' and 
General Harrow's divisions, of the Fifteenth Corps, that were on the 
right and left of the railroad. Being in person close by the spot, 
and appreciating the vast importance of the connection at that 
point, I ordered certain batteries of General Schofield's to be moved 
to a position somewhat commanding it by a left-flank fire, and 
ordered an incessant fire of shells on the enemy within sight and the 
woods beyond to prevent his re-enforcing. I also sent orders to 
General Logan, which he had already anticipated, to make the Fif- 
teenth Corps regain its lost ground at any cost, and instructed Gen- 
eral Woods, supported by General Schofield, to use his division and 
sweep the parapet down from where he held it until he saved the 
batteries and regained the lost ground. The whole was executed in 
superb style, at times our men and the enemy fighting across the 
narrow parapet ; but at last the enemy gave way, and the Fifteenth 
Corps regained its position and all the guns, excepting the two ad- 
vanced ones, which were out of view and had been removed by the 
enemy within his main works. 

With this report terminated the battle of the 22d, which cost us 
3,722 killed, wounded and prisoners. But among the dead was 
Major-General McPherson, whose body was recovered and brought 
to me in the heat of battle, and I had sent it in charge of his personal 
staff back to Marietta on its way to its Northern home. He was a 
noble youth, of striking personal appearance, of the highest profes- 



660 Appendix 

sional capacity, and with a heart abounding in kindness that drew 
to him the affections of all men. His sudden death devolved the 
command of the Army of the Tennessee on the no less brave and 
gallant General Logan, who nobly sustained his reputation and that 
of his veteran army and avenged the death of his comrade and 
commander. 

The enemy left on the field his dead and wounded and about a 
thousand well prisoners. His dead alone are computed by General 
Logan at 4,240, of which number 2,200 were from actual count, 
and of these he delivered to the enemy under flag of truce sent in by 
him (the enemy) 800 bodies. 1 entertain no doubt that in the battle 
of July 22d the enemy sustained an aggregate loss of full 8,000 men. 

The next day General Garrard returned from Covington, having 
succeeded perfectly in his mission, and destroyed the bridges at Ulco- 
fauhachee and Yellow Rivers, besides burning a train of cars, a large 
quantity of cotton ( 2,000 bales ) and the depot of stores at Covington 
and Conyers Station, and bringing in 200 prisoners and some good 
horses, losing but two men, one of whom was killed by accident. 
Having, therefore, sufficiently crippled the Augusta road, and ren- 
dered it useless to the enemy, I then addressed myself to the task of 
reaching the Macon road, over which of necessity came the stores 
and ammunition that alone maintained the rebel army in Atlanta. 
Generals Schofield and Thomas had closed well up, holding the enemy 
behind his inner entrenchments. 1 first ordered the Army of the 
Tennessee to prepare to vacate its line, and to shift by the right 
below Proctor's Creek, and General Schofield to extend up to the 
Augusta road. About the same time General Rousseau had arrived 
from his expedetion to Opelika. bringing me about 2,000 good 
cavalry, but, of course, fatigued with its long and rapid march, and 
ordering it to relieve General Stoneman at the river about Sand- 
town, T shifted General Garrard to our left flank, and ordered all my 
cavalry to prepare for a blow at the Macon road simultaneous with 
the Army of the Tennessee toward East Point. To accomplish this I 
gave General Stoneman the command of his own and General Gar- 
rard's cavalry, making an effective force of full 5.000 men, and to 
Gen. McCook 1 gave his own and the new cavalry brought by Gen. 
Rousseau, which was commanded by Colonel Harrison, of the Eighth 
Indiana Cavalry, in the aggregate about 4,000. These two well 
appointed bodies were to move in concert, the former by the left 
around Atlanta to McDonough, and the latter by the right on 
Fayetteville, and on a certain night, viz., July 28th. they were to meet 
me on the Macon road near Lovejoy's and destroy it in the most 
effectual manner. I estimated joint cavalry could whip all of 
Wheeler's cavalry, and could otherwise accomplish its task, and I 
think so still. I had the officers in command to meet me, and 



Sherman s Report 66 1 

explained the movement perfectly, and they entertained not a doubt 
of perfect success. At the very moment almost of starting" General 
Stoneman addressed me a note asking permission, after fulfilling 
his orders and breaking the road, to be allowed with his command 
proper to proceed to Macon and Andersonville and release our pris- 
oners of war confined at those points. There was something most 
captivating in the idea, and the execution was within the bounds of 
probability of success. I consented that after the defeat of 
Wheeler's cavalry, which was embraced in his orders, and breaking 
the road he might attempt it with his cavalry proper, sending that of 
General Garrard back to its proper flank of the army. 

Both cavalry expeditions started at the time appointed. I have 
as yet no report from General Stoneman, who is a prisoner of war 
at Macon, but I know he dispatched General Garrard's cavalry to 
Flat Rock for the purpose of covering his own movement to McDon- 
ough, but for some reason unknown to me he went off toward Cov- 
ington and did not again communicate with General Garrard at Flat 
Rock. General ( iarrard remained there until the 29th, skirmishing 
heavily with a part of Wheeler's cavalry and occupying their atten- 
tion, but hearing nothing from General Stoneman he moved back to 
Conyers, where, learning that General Stoneman had gone to Cov- 
ington and south on the east side of the Ocmulgee, he returned and 
resumed his position on our left. It is known that General Stone- 
man kept to the east of the Ocmulgee to Clinton, sending detach- 
ments off to the east, which did a large amount of damage to the 
railroad, burning the bridges of Walnut Creek and Oconee, and de- 
stroying a large number of cars and locomotives, and with his main 
force appeared before Macon. He did not succeed in crossing the 
( )cmulgee at Macon, nor in approaching Andersonville, but retired 
in the direction from whence he came, followed by various detach- 
ments of mounted men under a General Iverson. He seems to have 
become hemmed in, and gave consent to two-thirds of his force to 
escape back, while he held the enemy in check with the remainder, 
about 700 men and a section of light guns. One brigade, Colonel 
Adams', came in almost intact ; another, commanded by Colonel 
Capron, was surprised on the way back and scattered. Many were 
captured and killed, and the balance got in mostly unarmed and 
afoot, and the general himself surrendered his small command and 
is now a prisoner in Macon. His mistake was in not making the 
first concentration with Generals McCook and Garrard near Love- 
joy's, according to his orders, which is yet unexplained. 

General McCook in the execution of his part went down the 
west branch of the Chattahoochee to near Rivertown, where he laid a 
pontoon bridge with which he was provided, crossed his command 
and moved rapidly on Palmetto Station of the West Point Railroad, 



662 Appendix 

where he tore up a section of track, leaving a regiment to create a 
diversion toward Campbellton, which regiment fulfilled its duty 
and returned to camp by way of and escorting back the pontoon 
bridge train. General McCook then rapidly moved to Fayetteville, 
where he found a large number of the wagons belonging to the 
rebel army in Atlanta. These he burned to the number of about 
500, killing 800 mules and carrying along others, and taking 250 
prisoners, mostly quartermasters and men belonging to the trains. 
He then pushed for the railroad, reaching it at Lovejoy's Station 
at the time appointed. He burned the depot, tore up a section of 
the road, and continued to work until forced to leave off to defend 
himself against an accumulating force of the enemy. He could hear 
nothing of General Stoneman. and finding his progress east too 
strongly opposed he moved south and west and reached Newnan, 
on the West Point road, where he encountered an infantry force 
coming from Mississippi to Atlanta, which had been stopped by the 
break he had made at Palmetto. This force with the pursuing 
cavalry hemmed him in and forced him to fight. He was compelled 
to drop his prisoners and captures, and cut his way out, losing some 
500 officers and men, among them a most valuable officer, Colonel 
Harrison, who, when fighting his men as skirmishers on foot, was 
overcome and made prisoner, and is now at Macon. He cut his way 
out, reached the Chattahoochee, crossed, and got to Marietta without 
further loss. General McCook is entitled to much credit for thus 
saving his command, which was endangered by the failure of Gen- 
eral Stoneman to reach Lovejoy's. But on the whole the cavalry 
raid was not deemed a success, for the real purpose was to break up 
the enemy's communications, which though done was on so limited 
a scale that I knew the damage would soon be repaired. 

Pursuant to the general plan, the Army of the Tennessee drew 
out of its lines near the Decatur road during the night of July 26, 
and on the 27th moved behind the rest of the army to Proctor's Creek 
and south to prolong our line due south and facing east. On that 
day, by appointment of the President of the United States, Major- 
< leneral Howard assumed command of the Arm} - of the Tennessee 
and had the general supervision of the movement, which was made 
en echelon. General Dodge's corps (Sixteenth) on the left nearest 
enemy, General Blair's corps (Seventeenth) next to come up on its 
right, and General Logan's corps (Fifteenth) to come up on its right 
and refused as a flank, the whole to gain as much ground due south 
from the flank already established on Procter's Creek as was con- 
sistent with a proper strength. General Dodge's men got into line 
in the evening of the 27th, and General Blair's came into line on his 
right early on the morning of the 28th, his right reaching an old 
meeting-house called Ezra Church near some large open fields by 



Sherman s Report 663 

the poor-house on a road known as the Bell's Ferry road or Lick 
Skillet road. Here the Fifteenth Corps (General Logan's) joined 
on and refused along a ridge well wooded, which partially com- 
manded a view over the same fields. About 10 a. m. all the army 
was in position and the men were busy in throwing up the accus- 
tomed pile of rails and logs, which after awhile assumed the form of 
a parapet. The skill and rapidity with which our men constructed 
these is wonderful and is something new in the art of war. I rode 
along this whole line about this time, and as 1 approached Ezra 
Church there was considerable artillery firing-, infilading the road 
in which I was riding, killing an orderly's horse just behind my 
staff. T struck across an open field to where General Howard was 
standing in rear the Fifteenth Corps and walked up the ridge with 
General Morgan L. Smith to see if the battery which infiladed the 
main road and rail piles could not be disposed of, and heard General 
Smith give the necessary orders for the deployment of one regiment 
forward and another to make a circuit to the right, when I returned 
to where General Howard was, and remained there until 12 o'clock. 
During this time there was nothing to indicate save the shelling by 
one or at most two batteries from beyond the large field in front of 
the Fifteenth Corps. 

Wishing to be well prepared to defeat the enemy if he repeated 
the game of the 22d, I had the night before ordered Gen. Davis' divi- 
sion of Gen. Palmer's corps, which by the movement of the Army of 
the Tennessee had been left as it were in reserve, to move down to 
Turner's Ferry and thence toward Whitehall or East Point, aiming 
to reach the flank of General Howard's new line. Hoping that in 
case of an attack this division would in turn catch the attacking 
force in flank or rear at an unexpected moment, I explained it to 
( General Howard and bade him to expect the arrival of such a force 
in case of battle. Indeed, I expected to hear the fire of its skir- 
mishers by noon. General Davis was sick that day, and Brigadier- 
General Morgan commanded the division which had marched early 
for Turner's Ferry, but many of the roads laid down on our maps 
did not exist at all, and General Morgan w^as delayed thereby. I 
rode back to make more particular inquiries as to this division, and 
had just reached General Davis' headquarters at Proctor's Creek 
when I heard musketry open heavily on the right. The enemy had 
come out of Atlanta by the Bell's Ferry road and formed his masses 
in the open fields behind a swell of ground, and after the artillery 
firing I have described advanced in parallel lines directly against 
the Fifteenth Corps, expecting to catch that flank in "air." His 
advance was magnificent, but founded on an error that cost him 
sadly, for our men coolly and deliberately cut down his men, and, in 
spite of the efforts of the rebel officers, his ranks broke and fled. 



664 Appendix 

But they were rallied again and again, as often as six times at some 
points, and a few of the rebel officers and men reached onr line of 
rail piles only to be killed or hauled over as prisoners. These as- 
saults occurred from noon until about 4 p. m., when the enemy dis- 
appeared, leaving" his dead and wounded in our hands. As many as 
642 dead were counted and buried, and still others are known to have 
been buried which were not counted by the regularly detailed burial 
parties. General Logan on this occasion was conspicuous as on the 
22c\, his corps being chiefly engaged, but General Howard had drawn 
from the other corps (Sixteenth and Seventeenth) certain reserves, 
which were near at hand but not used. Our entire loss is reported 
at less than 600, whereas that of the enemy was in killed and 
wounded not less than 5,000. 

Had General Davis' division come up on the Bell's Ferry road as 
I calculated at any time before 4 o'clock, what was simply a com- 
plete repulse would have been a disastrous rout to the enemy, but I 
cannot attribute the failure to want of energy or intelligence, and 
must charge it, like many other things in the campaign, to the pecu- 
liar, tangled nature of the forests and absence of roads that would 
admit the rapid movement of troops. 

This affair terminated all efforts of the enemy to check our 
extensions by the flank, which afterward proceeded with comparative 
case, but he met our extensions to the south by rapid and well con- 
structed forts and rifle-pits built between us and the railroad to and 
below East Point, remaining perfectly on the defensive. Finding 
that the right flank of the Army of the Tennessee did not reach, I 
was forced to shift General Schofield to that flank also, and after- 
ward General Palmer's corps, of General Thomas' army. General 
Schofield moved from the left on the 1st of August, and General 
Palmer's corps followed at once, taking a line below Utoy Creek, 
and General Schofield prolonged it to a point near East Point. The 
enemy made no offensive opposition, but watched our movement and 
extended his lines and parapets accordingly. 

About this time several changes in important commands 
occurred which should be noted. General Hooker, offended that 
General Howard was preferred to him as the successor of General 
McPherson, resigned his command of the Twentieth Corps, to 
which General Slocum was appointed; but he was at Yicksburg, and 
until he joined the command of the corps devolved upon General 
A. S. Williams, who handled it admirably. General Palmer also 
resigned the command of the Fourteenth Corps, and General Jeff. 
C. Davis was appointed to his place. Maj. Gen. D. S. Stanlev had 
succeeded General Howard in the command of the Fourth Corps. 

From the 2d to the 5th we continued to extend to the right, 
demonstrating stronglv on the left and along onr whole line. Gen- 



Shermans Report 665 

eral Reilly's brigade, of General Cox's division, General Schofield's 
army, on the 5th tried to break through the enemy's line about a mile 
below Utoy Creek, but failed to carry the position, losing about 400 
men, who were caught in the entanglements and abatis, bnt the next 
day the position was turned by General Hascall, and General Scho- 
rlelcl advanced his whole line close up to and facing the enemy below 
Utoy Creek. Still he did not gain the desired point on either the West 
Point or Macon road. The enemy's line at that time must have been 
near fifteen miles long, extending from Decatur to below East 
Point. This he was enabled to do by use of a large force of State 
militia, and his position was so masked by the shape of the ground 
that we were unable to discover the weak parts. 

I had become satisfied that to reach the Macon road and thereby 
control the supplies for Atlanta, I would have to move the whole 
army, but before beginning I ordered down from Chattanooga four 
4^2 -inch rifle guns to try their effect. These arrived on the 10th 
and were put to work night and day and did execution on the city. 
causing frequent fires and creating confusion. Yet the enemy 
seemed determined to hold his forts even if the city was destroyed. 

On the 16th of August I made my Orders, No. 57, prescribing 
the mode and manner of executing the grand movement by the right 
flank to begin on the 18th. This movement contemplated the with- 
drawal of the Twentieth Corps, General Williams, to the entrenched 
position at the Chattahoochee bridge and the march of the main army 
to the West Point Railroad near Fairburn, and afterward to the 
Macon road, at or near Jonesborough, with our wagons loaded with 
provisions for fifteen days. About the time of the publication of 
these orders, I learned that Wheeler, with a large mounted force of 
the enemy, variously estimated from 6,000 to 10,000 men, had passed 
around by the east and north and had made his appearance on out- 
line of communication near Adairsville, and had succeeded in cap- 
turing 900 of our beef-cattle and had made a break of the railroad 
near Calhoun. I could not have asked for anything better, for I had 
provided well against such a contingency, and this detachment left 
me superior to the enemy in cavalry. I suspended the execution of 
my orders for the time being and ordered General Kilpatrick to make 
up a well appointed force of about 5,000 cavalry, and to move from 
his camp about Sandtown during the night of the 18th to the West 
Point road and break it good near Fairburn, then to proceed to the 
Macon road and tear it up thoroughly, but to avoid as far as possible 
the enemy's infantry, but to attack any cavalry he could find. I 
thought this cavalry would save the necessity of moving the main 
army across, and that in case of his success it would leave me in 
better position to take full advantage of the result. General Kil- 
patrick got off at the time appointed and broke the West Point road 



666 . Ippendix 

and afterward reached the Alacon road at Jonesborough, where he 
whipped Ross' cavalry and got possession of the railroad, which he 
held for five hours, damaging it considerably, but a brigade of the 
enemy's infantry, which had been dispatched below Jonesborough 
in cars, was run back and disembarked, and with Jackson's rebel 
cavalry made it impossible for him to continue his work. He drew 
off to the east and made a circuit and struck the railroad about Love- 
joy's Station, but was again threatened by the enemy, who moved 
on shorter lines, when he charged through their cavalry, taking 
many prisoners, of which he brought in 70, and captured a 4-gun 
battery, which he destroyed, except one gun, which he brought in. 
He estimated the damage done to the road as enough to interrupt its 
use for ten days, after which he turned by a circuit north and east, 
reaching Decatur on the 22d. 

After an interview with General Kilpatrick T was satisfied that 
whatever damage he had done would not produce the result desired, 
and I renewed my orders for the movement of the whole army. This 
involved the necessity of raising the siege of Atlanta, taking the 
field with our main force and using it against the communications 
of Atlanta instead of against its intrenchments. All the army com- 
manders were at once notified to send their surplus wagons, incum- 
brances of all kinds, and sick back to our intrenched position at the 
bridge, and that the movement would begin during the night of the 
25th. Accordingly, all things being ready, the Fourth Corps (Gen- 
eral Stanley) drew out of its lines on our extreme left and marched 
to a position below Proctor's Creek. The Twentieth Corps (General 
Williams) moved back to the Chattahoochee. This movement was 
made without loss, save a few things left in our camps by thought- 
less officers and men. The night of the 26th the movement con- 
tinued, the Army of the Tennessee drawing out and moving rapidly 
by a circuit well toward Sandtown and across Camp Creek, the Army 
of the Cumberland, below Utoy Creek, General Schofield, remain- 
ing in position. This was effected with the loss of but a single man 
in the Army of the Tennessee, wounded by a shell from the enemy. 
The third move brought the Army of the Tennessee on the West 
Point railroad above Fairburn, the Army of the Cumberland about 
Red Oak, and General Schofield close in near Diggs' and Mimms'. I 
then ordered one day's work to be expended in destroying that road, 
and it was done with a will. Twelve and one-half miles were 
destroyed, the ties burned, and the iron rails heated and twisted by 
the utmost ingenuity of old hands at the work. Several cuts were 
filled up with the trunks of trees, logs, rocks, and earth, intermingled 
with loaded shells prepared as torpedos to explode in case of an at- 
tempt to clear them out. 

Having personally inspected this work and satisfied with its exe- 
cution, I ordered the whole army to move the next day eastward by 



Shermans Report 667 

several roads, General Howard on the right toward Jonesborough, 
General Thomas the center by Shoal Creek Church to Couch's, on the 
Decatur and Fayetteville road, and General Schofield on the left, 
about Morrow's Mills. An inspection of the map will show the 
strategic advantage of this position. The railroad from Atlanta to 
Macon follows substantially the ridge, or "divide" between the 
waters of Flint and Ocmulgee Rivers, and from East Point to Jones- 
borough makes a wide bend to the east. Therefore the position I 
have described, which had been well studied on paper, was my first 
objective, it gave me "interior lines," something our enemy had 
enjoyed too long, and I was anxious for once to get the inside track 
and therefore my haste and desire to secure it. The several columns 
moved punctually on the morning of the 29th ; and General Thomas, 
on the center, encountered little opposition or difficulty save what 
resulted from narrow roads, and reached his position at Couch's 
early in the afternoon. General Schofield being closer to the enemy, 
who clung to East Point, moved cautiously on a small circle around 
that point and came into position toward Rough and Ready, and 
General Howard, having the outer circle, had a greater distance to 
move. He encountered cavalry, which he drove rapidly to the 
crossing of Shoal Creek, where the enemy also had artillery. Here 
a short delay occurred and some cannonading and skirmishing, but 
General Howard started them again and kept them moving, passed 
the Renfrow place, on the Decatur road, which was the point indi- 
cated for him in the orders of that day, but he wisely and well kept 
on and pushed on toward Jonesborough, saved the bridge across 
Flint River, and did not halt until darkness compelled him, within 
half a mile of Jonesborough. Here he rested for the night and in 
the morning of August 31, finding himself in the presence of a 
heavy force of the enemy, he deployed the Fifteenth Corps and dis- 
posed the Sixteenth and Sevententh on its flanks. The men covered 
their front with the usual parapets and soon prepared to act offen- 
sively or defensively as the case called for. I was that night with 
General Thomas at Couch's, and as soon as I learned that General 
Howard had passed Renfrow's, I directed General Thomas to send 
to that place a division of General Jeff. C. Davis' corps, to move 
General Stanley's corps in connection with General Schofield toward 
Rough and Ready, and then to send forward due east a strong 
detachment of General Davis' corps to feel for the railroad. General 
Schofield was also ordered to move boldly forward and strike the 
railroad near Rough and Ready. 

These movements were progressing during the 31st, when the 
enemy came out of his works at Jonesborough and attacked General 
Howard, as described. General Howard was admirably situated to 
receive him and repulsed the attack thoroughly. The enemy 



668 Appendix 

attacked with Lee's and Hardee's corps, and after a contest of two 
hours withdrew, leaving over 400 dead on the ground, and his 
wounded, of which about 300 were left in Jonesborough, could not 
have been much less than 2,500. Hearing the sounds of battle at 
Jonesborough about noon, orders were renewed to push the other 
movements on the left and center, and about 4 p. m. the reports 
arrived simultaneously that General Howard had thoroughly 
repulsed the enemy at Jonesborough ; that General Schofield had 
reached the raliroad a mile below Rough and Ready and was work- 
ing up the road, breaking it as he went ; that General Stanley, of 
( reneral Thomas' army, had also got the road below General Scho- 
field and was destroying it, working south, and that General Baird, 
of General Davis' corps, had struck it still lower down within four 
miles of Jonesborough. Orders were at once given for all the army 
to turn on Jonesborough. General Howard to keep the enemy busy 
while General Thomas should move down from the north, with 
General Schofield on his left. I also ordered the troops as they 
moved down to continue the thorough destruction of the raliroad, 
because we had it then, and I did not know what events might divert 
our attention. General Garrard's cavalry was directed to watch the 
roads to our rear and north. General Kilpatrick was sent south, 
down the west bank of the Flint, with instructions to attack or 
threaten the railroad below Jonesborough. I expected the whole 
army would close down on Jonesborough by noon on the 1st of Sep- 
tember. General Davis' corps having the shorter distance to travel 
was on time and deployed facing south, his right in connection with 
General Howard and his left on the railroad. General Stanley and 
General Schofield were coming down along the Rough and Ready 
road and along the railroad, breaking it as they came. When Gen- 
eral Davis joined to General Howard, General Blair's corps, on Gen- 
eral Howard's left, was thrown in reserve, and was immediately sent 
well to the right below Jonesborough to act against that flank, along 
with General Kilpatrick's cavalry. About 4 p. m. General Davis 
was all ready and assaulted the enemy's lines across open fields, 
carrying them very handsomely and taking as prisoners the greater 
part of Govan's brigade, including its commander, with two 4-gun 
batteries. 

Repeated orders were sent to Generals Stanley and Schofield to 
hurry up, but the difficult nature of the country and the absence of 
roads are the reasons assigned why these troops did not get well into 
position for attack before night rendered further operations impos- 
sible. Of course the next morning the enemy was gone and had 
retreated south. 

About two o'clock that night the sounds of heavy explosions 
were heard in the direction of Atlanta, distant about twenty miles. 



Shermans Report 669 

with a succession of minor explosions and what seemed like the rapid 
tiring- of cannon and musketry. These continued about an hour, and 
again about 4 a. m. occurred another series of similar discharges 
apparently nearer us, and these sounds could be accounted for on no 
other hypothesis than of a night attack on Atlanta by ( General Slo- 
cum or the blowing up of the enemy's magazines. Nevertheless at 
daybreak, on finding the enemy gone from his lines at Jonesborough, 
1 ordered a general pursuit south, ( ieneral Thomas following to the 
left of the railroad, General Howard on its right, and General Scho- 
field keeping off about two miles to the east. We overtook the 
enemy again irear Lovejoy's Station in a strong intrenched position, 
with his flanks well protected behind a branch of Walnut Creek to 
the right and a confluent of the Flint River to his left. We pushed 
close up and reconnoitered the ground and found he had evidently 
halted to cover his communication with the McDonough and Fay- 
etteville road. Rumors began to arrive, through prisoners captured, 
that Atlanta had been abandoned during the night of September 1 ; 
that Hood had blown up his ammunition trains, which accounted for 
the sounds so plainly heard by us, and which were yet unexplained ; 
that Stewart's corps was then retreating toward McDonough, and 
that the militia had gone off toward Covington. It was then too late 
to interpose and prevent their escape, and I was satisfied with the 
substantial success already gained. Accordingly I ordered the work 
of destroying the railroad to cease and the troops to be held in hand 
ready for any movement that further information from Atlanta 
might warrant. 

General Jeff. C. Davis' corps had been left above Jonesborough, 
and General Garrard's cavalry was still farther back, and the latter 
was ordered to send back to Atlanta and ascertain the exact truth 
and the real situation of affairs. But the same night, viz., September 
4, a courier arrived from General Slocum reporting the fact that the 
enemy had evacuted Atlanta ; blown up seven trains of cars, and 
had retreated on the McDonough road. General Slocum had en- 
tered and taken possession on the 2d of September. The object of 
my movement against the railroad was therefore already reached 
and concluded, and as it was idle to pursue our enemy in that wooded 
country with a view to his capture, I gave orders on the 4th for the 
army to prepare to move slow, back to Atlanta. ( )n the 5th we drew 
back to the vicinity of Jonesborough, five miles, where we remained 
a day. On the 7th we moved to Rough and Ready, seven miles, and 
the next day to the camps selected, viz., the Army of the Cumberland 
grouped around about Atlanta, the Army of the Tennessee about 
East Point, and that of the Ohio at Decatur, where the men now 
occupy clean and healthy camps. 

I have not yet received full or satisfactory accounts of 
Wheeler's operations to our rear, further than he broke the road 



6/0 Appendix 

about Calhoun and then made his appearance at Dalton, where 
Colonel Laiboldt held him in check until General Steedman arrived 
from Chattanooga and drove him off. He then passed up into East 
Tennessee and made quite a stay at Athens, but at the first show of 
pursuit he kept on north across the Little Tennessee, and crossing 
the Holston near Strawberry Plains, reached the Clinch near Clinton, 
and passed over towards Sequatchie and McMinnville. Thence he 
seems to have gone to Murfreesborough and Lebanon, and across to 
Franklin. He may have committed damage to the property of citi- 
zens, but has injured us but little, the railroads being repaired about 
as fast as he broke them. From Franklin he has been pursued 
toward Florence and out of the state by Generals Rousseau, Steed- 
men, and Granger, but what amount of execution they have done to 
him has not been reported. 

C )ur roads and telegraphs have all been repaired, and the cars 
run with regularity and speed. 

It is proper to remark in this place that during the operations of 
this campaign expeditions were sent out from Memphis and Vicks- 
burg to check any movements of the enemy's forces in Mississippi 
upon our communications. The manner in which this object was 
accomplished reflects credit upon Generals A. J. Smith, Washburn, 
Slocum, and Mower, and although General Sturgis' expedition was 
less successful than the others, it assisted in the main object to be 
accomplished. 

I must bear the full and liberal testimony to the energetic and 
successful management of our railroads during the campaign. No 
matter when or where a break has been made, the repair train 
seemed on the spot, and the damage was repaired generally before I 
knew of the break. Bridges have been repaired with surprising 
rapidity, and the locomotive whistle was heard in our advanced 
camps almost before the echo of the skirmish fire had ceased. Some 
of these bridges — those of the Oostenaula, the Etowah, and Chatta- 
hoochee — are fine, substantial structures, and were built in an incon- 
ceivably short time, almost out of material improvised on the spot. 

Col. W. W. Wright, who has charge of the construction and 
repairs, is not only a most skillful, but a wonderfully ingenious, in- 
dustrious, and zealous officer, and I can hardly do him justice. In 
like manner the officers charged with running the trains have suc- 
ceeded to my entire satisfaction, and have worked in perfect harmony 
with the quartermasters and commissaries, bringing forward abun- 
dant supplies with such regularity that at no one time have we 
wanted for provisions, forage, ammunition, or stores of any essential 
kind. 

Col. L. C. Easton, chief quartermaster, and Col. A. Beckwith, 
chief commissary, have also succeeded in a manner surprising to all 



Shermans Report 671 

of us in getting forward supplies. I doubt if ever an army was bet- 
ter supplied than this, and 1 commend them most highly for it, 
because I know that more solicitude was felt by the lieutenant- 
general commanding, and by the military world at large, on this 
than any other one problem involved in the success of the campaign. 
Capt. T. G. Baylor, chief ordnance officer, has in like manner kept 
the arm) supplied at all times with every kind of ammunition. To 
Capt. ( ). M. Foe, chief engineer, I am more than ordinarily indebted 
for keeping me supplied with maps and information of roads and 
topography, as well as in the more important branch of his duties in 
selecting lines and military positions. 

My own personal staff has been small, but select. Brig. Gen. 
W. F. Barry, an officer of enlarged capacity and great experience, 
has filled the office of chief of artillery to perfection, and Lieut. Col. 
E. D. Kittoe, chief medical inspector, has clone everything possible to 
give proper aid and direction to the operations of that important 
department. I have never seen the wounded removed from the fields 
of battle, cared for, and afterward sent to proper hospitals in the 
rear, with more promptness, system, care, and success than during 
this whole campaign, covering over 100 days of actual battle and 
skirmish. My aides-de-camp, Maj. J. C. McCoy. Capt. L. M. Day- 
ton, and Capt. J. C. Audenried, have been ever zealous and most 
efficient, carrying my orders day and night to distant parts of our 
extended lines with an intelligence and zeal that insured the proper 
working of machinery covering from ten to twenty-five miles of 
ground, when the least error in the delivery and explanation of an 
order would have produced confusion ; whereas, in a great measure, 
owing to the intelligence of these officers, orders have been made so 
clear that these vast armies have moved side by side, sometimes 
crossing each other's tracks, through a difficult country of over 138 
miles in length, without confusion or trouble. Captain Dayton has 
also filled the duties of my adjutant-general, making all orders and 
carrying on the official correspondence. Three inspector-generals 
completed my staff : Brig. Gen. J. M. Corse, who has since been 
assigned the command of a division of the Sixteenth Corps at the 
request of General Dodge ; Lieut. Col. W. Warner, of the Sev- 
enty-sixth Ohio, and Lieut. Col. Charles Ewing, inspector-general of 
the Fifteenth Corps and captain Thirteenth U. S. Regulars. These 
officers, of singular energy and intelligence, have been of immense 
assistance to me in handling these large armies. 

My three armies in the field were commanded by able officers, 
my equals in rank and experience — Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, 
Maj. Gen. J. M. Schofield, and Maj. Gen. O. O. Howard. With 
such commanders, T had only to indicate the object desired and they 
accomplished it. I cannot overestimate their services to the country, 



672 Appendix 

and must express my deep and heartfelt thanks that coming together 
from different fields, with different interests, they have co-operated 
with a harmony that has been productive of the greatest amount of 
success and good feeling. A more harmonious army does not exist. 
1 now inclose their reports and those of the corps, division, and 
brigade commanders, a perusal of which will fill up the sketch which 
I have endeavored to make. I also submit tabular statements of our 
losses in battle by wounds and sickness ; also list of prisoners cap- 
tured, sent to the rear, and exchanged; also of the guns and mate- 
rials of war captured, besides the important country towns and 
arsenals of the enemy that we now occupy and hold. 
All of which is respectfullv submitted. 

W. T. SHERMAN. 
Major -General, Commanding. 
Maj. Gen. H. W. Halleck:, 

' Chief of Staff, Washington, D. C. 

Note — The following extract from letter of Sherman to Halleck 
is well worth printing in connection with Sherman's report : 

Hdors. Military Division oe the Mississippi. 
/;; the Field, near Lovejoy's, twenty-six miles south of Atlanta, 

September 4, 1864. 
General Halleck : 

My Dear Friend: 1 owe you a private letter, and believe one 
at this time will be acceptable to you. I appreciate your position and 
the delicate responsibilities that devolve on you, but believe you will 
master and surmount them all. I confess I owe you all I now enjoy 
of fame, for I had allowed myself in 1861 to sink into a perfect 
"slough of despond," and do believe if I could I would have run 
away and hid from the dangers and complications that surrounded 
us. You alone seemed to be confident, and opened to us the first 
avenue of success and hope, and you gradually put me in the way of 
recovering from what might have proved an ignoble end. When 
Grant spoke of my promotion as a major-general of the regular 
army, I asked him to decline in my name till this campaign tested us. 
Even when my commission came, which you were kind enough to 
send. I doubted its wisdom, but now that T have taken Atlanta as 
much by strategy as by force, I suppose the military world will 
approve of it. 

Through the official bulletins you are better acquainted with all 
the steps of our progress than any other man in the country, but I 
will try and point out to you more clearly the recent achievement. 
By the rapid falling off of my command, by expiration of service, I 
found myself reduced in number, close up against Atlanta, which 
was so protected by earth-works that I dared not assault. For- 



Sherman- s Report 673 

tunately Hood detached (>,ooo of his 1>cst cavalry to the rear, and I 
quickly sent my cavalry to break the Macon road, over which his pro- 
visions and supplies came. 1 knew my cavalry was the superior to 
his, but he managed skillfully to send a brigade of infantry, which, 
in connection with his cavalry, about 4,000, managed so to occupy 
mine that though Kilpatrick reached the road he could work but 
little. The damage was soon repaired, and nothing was left me but 
ic raise the siege, and move with my army. I moved one corps by 
night back to the bridge, which had been intrenched, using mostly 
old rebel works, then withdrawing from the left I got my whole 
army over on the West Point road, from Red Oak to Fairburn, with 
the loss of but one man. There I spent one day and broke twelve 
miles of that road good. I then moved rapidly so that my right flank 
was within half a mile of the Macon road at Jonesborough, and the 
left two miles and a half from Rough and Ready. Hood had first 
sent Lee's corps to Jonesborough and Hardee's to Rough and Ready, 
but the Army of the Tennessee (my right) approached Jonesborough 
so rapidly that Hardee's corps was shifted at night also to that flank. 
Seeing his mistake I ordered Howard rapidly to intrench and hold 
his position, "threatening," and threw the balance of my army on 
the road from Rough and Ready to within four miles of Jones- 
borough. The moment that was done, I ordered Thomas and Scho- 
field to rapidly break up that road, and without rest to turn on Jones- 
borough and crush that part. My plan was partially, but not 
thoroughly executed. Hardee assaulted Howard, but made no pro- 
gress ; left his dead, about 400, and wounded in our hands, and fell 
behind his own works. I expected Thomas to be ready by 11 a. m., 
but it was near 4 when he got in ; but one corps, Davis', charged 
down and captured the flank with 10 guns and many prisoners, but 
for some reason Stanley and Schofield were slow, and night came to 
Hardee's relief, and he escaped to the south. Hood finding me 
twenty miles below him on his only railroad, and Hardee defeated, * 
was forced to abandon Atlanta, and retreated eastward, and by a cir- 
cuit has got his men below me on the line to Macon. I ought to have 
reaped larger fruits of victory. A part of my army is too slow, but 
I feel my part was skillful and well executed. Though I ought to 
have taken 10,000 of Hardee's men, and all his artillery, I must con- 
tent myself with 500 dead, 2,000 wounded, 2,000 prisoners. 10 guns 
(in the field and 14 in Atlanta, 7 trains of cars captured and burned, 
many stragglers fleeing in disorder, and the town of Atlanta, which, 
after all, was the prize I fought for. 

The army is in magnificent heart, and I could go on, but it would 
not be prudent. Wheeler is still somewhere to my rear, and everv 
mile costs me detachments which I can illy spare. This country is 
so easily fortified that an enemy can stop an army every few miles. 

43-1 



674 Appendix 

All the roads run on ridges, so that a hundred yards of parapet, with 
abatis, closes it, and gives the wings time to extend as fast as we can 
reconnoiter and cut roads. Our men will charge the parapet without 
fear, but they cannot the abatis and entanglements, which catch them 
at close range. I stay here a few days for effect, and then will fall 
back and occupy Atlanta, giving my command some rest. They need 
it. The untold labor they have done is herculean, and if ever you 
pass our route you will say honestly that we have achieved success 
by industry and courage. I hope the administration will be satisfied, 
for I have studied hard to serve it faithfully. 

I hope anything I may have said or done will not be construed 
unfriendly to Mr. Lincoln or Stanton. That negro letter of mine I 
never designed for publication, but I am honest in my belief that it is 
not fair to our men to count negroes as equals. Cannot we at this 
day drop theories, and be reasonable men? Let us capture negroes, 
of course, and use them to the best advantage. My quartermaster 
now could give employment to 3,200, and relieve that number of sol- 
diers who are now used to unload and dispatch trains, whereas those 
recruiting agents take them back to Nashville, where, so far as my 
experience goes, they disappear. When I call for expeditions at dis- 
tant points, the answer invariably comes that they have not sufficient 
troops. All count the negroes out. On the Mississippi, where 
Thomas talked about 100,000 negro troops, I find I cannot draw 
away a white soldier, because they are indispensable to the safety of 
the river. I am willing to use them as far as possible, but object to 
fighting with "paper" men. Occasionally an exception occurs, which 
simply deceives. We want the best young white men of the land, 
and they should be inspired with the pride of freemen to fight for 
their country. If Mr. Lincoln or Stanton could walk through the 
camps of this army and hear the soldiers talk they would hear new 
ideas. T have had the question put to me often : "Is not a negro as 
good as a white man to stop a bullet?" Yes, and a sand-bag is bet- 
ter; but can a negro do our skirmishing and picket duty? Can they 
improvise roads, bridges, sorties, flank movements, &c, like the white 
man ? I say no. Soldiers must and do many things without orders 
from their own sense, as in sentinels. Negroes are not equal to this. 
T have gone steadily, firmly, and confidently along, and I could not 
have done it with black troops, but with my old troops I have never 
felt a waver of doubt, and that very confidence begets success. I 
hope to God the draft will be made to-morrow ; that you will keep 
up my army to its standard, 100,000 men ; that you will give Canby 
an equal number; give Grant 200,000, and the balance keep on our 
communications, and I pledge you to take Macon and Savannah 
before spring, or leave my bones. My arm}' is now in the very con- 
dition to be supplied with recruits. We have good corporals and 



Shermans Report 675 

sergeants, and some good lieutenants and captains, and those are far 
more important than good generals. They all seem to have implicit 
confidence in me. They observe success at points remote, as in this 
case of Atlanta, and they naturally say that the old man knows what 
he is about. They think I know where every road and by-path is in 
Georgia, and one soldier swore that I was born on Kenesaw Moun- 
tain. George Thomas, you know, is slow, but as true as steel : 
Schofield is also slow and leaves too much to others ; Howard is a 
Christian, elegant gentleman, and conscientious soldier. In him I 
made no mistake. Hooker was a fool. Had he staid a couple of 
weeks he could have marched into Atlanta and claimed all the 
honors. 1 therefore think I have the army on which you may safely 
build. 



CHAPTER XLII 
Johnston's report. 

Report of General Joseph E. Johnston, C. S. Army, commanding 
Army of Tennessee, of operations December 27, 186^-JuJy 17, 
1864! 

Vineville, Ga., October, 20, 1864. 

Sir : I have the honor to make the following report of the oper- 
ations of the Army of the Tennessee while it was under my com- 
mand. Want of the reports of the lieutenant-generals, for which I 
have waited until now, prevents me from being circumstantial : 

In obedience to the orders of the President, received by tele- 
graph at Clinton, Miss., December 18, 1863, I assumed command of 
the Army of Tennessee at Dalton on the 27th of that month. 

Letters from the President and Secretary of War, dated, respec- 
tively, December 23 and 20, impressed upon me the importance of 
soon commencing active operations against the enemy. The relative 
forces, including the moral effect of the affair of Missionary Ridge, 
condition of the artillery horses and most of those of the cavalry, and 
want of field transportation, made it impracticable to effect the 
wishes of the Executive. 

On December 31 the effective total of the infantry and artillery 
of the army, including two brigades belonging to the Department of 
Mississippi, was 36,826. The effective total of the cavalry, including 
Roddey's command at Tuscumbia, was 5,613. The Federal force in 
our front, exclusive of cavalry, and the Ninth and Twenty-third 
Corps at Knoxville, was estimated at 80,000. The winter was 
mainly employed in improving the discipline and equipment of the 
army and bringing back absentees to the ranks. At the end of April 
more than 5,000 had joined their regiments. 

The horses of the cavalry and artillery had been much reduced 
in condition by the previous campaign. As full supplies of forage 
could not be furnished them at Dalton, it was necessary to send about 
half of each of these arms of service far to the rear, where the coun- 
try could furnish food. On that account Brigadier-General Roddey 
was ordered with about three-fourths of his troops from Tuscumbia 
to Dalton, and arrived at the end of February. On April 2. how- 
ever, he was sent back to his former position by the Secretarv of 
War. 

676 



Johnston' s Report 677 

( >n January 15 and 16 Baldwin's and Quarks' brigades returned 
to the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, to which they 
belonged. His Excellency Joseph E. Brown added to the army two 
regiments of State troops, which were used to guard the railroad 
bridges between Dalton and Atlanta. 

On February 17 the President ordered me by telegraph to detach 
Lieutenant-General Hardee with the infantry of his corps, except 
Stevenson's division, to aid Lieutenant-General Polk against Sher- 
man in Mississippi. This order was obeyed as promptly as our 
means of transportation permitted. The force detached was prob- 
ably exaggerated to Major-General Thomas, for on the 23d the Fed- 
eral army advanced to Ringgold, on the 24th drove in our outposts, 
and on the 25th skirmished at Alill Creek Gap and in Crow's Valley, 
east of Rocky Face Mountain. We were successful at both places. 
At the latter, Clayton's brigade, after a sharp action of half an hour, 
defeated double its number. At night it was reported that a U. S. 
brigade was occupying Dug Gap, from which it had driven our 
troops. Granbury's (Texas) brigade, returning from Mississippi, 
had just arrived. It was ordered to march to the foot of the moun- 
tain immediately and to retake the gap at sunrise next morning, 
which was done. Tn the night of the 26th the enemy retired. On 
February 2^ T suggested to the Executive by letter through General 
Bragg that all preparations for a forward movement should be made 
without further delay. 

in a letter dated 4th of March General Bragg desired me "to 
have all things ready at the earliest practicable moment for the move- 
ment indicated.'" Tn -replying, on the 12th, I reminded him that 
the regulations of the War Department do not leave such prepara- 
tions to commanders of troops, but to officers who receive their or- 
ders from Richmond. On the 18th a letter was received from Gen- 
eral Bragg sketching a plan of offensive operations, and enumerating 
the troops to be used in them under me. I was invited to express 
my views on the subject. Tn doing so, both by telegraph and mail, 
I suggested modifications, and urged that the additional troops 
named should be sent immediately, to enable us, should the enemy 
advance, to beat him and then move forward ; or should he not ad- 
vance, do so ourselves. General Bragg replied by telegraph on the 
2ist : 

"Your dispatch of 19th does not indicate acceptance of plan pro- 
posed. Troops can only be drawn from other points for advance. 
Upon your decision of that point further action must depend." 

I replied by telegraph on the 22nd : 

"In my dispatch of the 19th I expressly accept taking offensive. 
Only differ with you as to details. I assume that the enemy will 
be prepared for advance before we will, and will make it, to our ad- 



678 Appendix 

vantage. Therefore I propose, both for offensive and defensive, to 
assemble our troops here immediately." 

This was not noticed. Therefore, on the 25th, I again urged 
the necessity of re-enforcing the Army of the Tennessee, because the 
enemy was collecting a larger force than that of the last campaign, 
while ours was less than it had been then. 

On the 3d of April Lieut. -Col. A. H. Cole arrived at Dalton to 
direct the procuring of artillery horses and field transportation to en- 
able the army to advance. On the 4th, under orders No. 32 of 1864, 
I applied to the chief of the conscript service for 1,000 negro team- 
sters. None were received. On the 8th of April Col. B. S. Ewell, 
assistant adjutant-general, was sent to Richmond to represent to the 
President my wish to take the offensive with proper means and to 
learn his views. A few days afterward Brigadier-General Pendle- 
ton arrived from Richmond to explain to me the President's wishes 
on that subject. I explained to him the modification of the plan 
communicated by General Bragg (which seemed to me essential), 
which required that the intended reinforcements should be sent to 
Dalton. I urged that this should be done without delay, because 
our present force was not sufficient even for defense, and to enable 
us to take the offensive if the enemy did not. 

On the 1st of May I reported the enemy about to advance. On 
the 2d Brigadier-General Mercer's command arrived — about 1,400 
effective infantry. On the 4th I expressed myself satisfied that the 
enemy was about to attack with his united forces, and again urged 
that a part of Lieutenant-General Polk's troops should be put at my 
disposal. I was informed by General Bragg that orders to that 
effect were given. Major-General Martin, whose division of cav- 
alry, coming from East Tenessee, had been halted on the Etowah to 
recruit its horses, was ordered with it to observe the Oostenaula from 
Resaca to Rome ; and Brigadier-General Kelly was ordered, with his 
command, from the neighborhood of Resaca, to report to Major- 
General Wheeler. The effective artillery and infantry of the Army 
of the Tennessee after the arrival of Mercr's brigade amounted to 
40,900; the effective cavalry to about 4,000. Major-General Sher- 
man's army was composed of that of Missionary Ridge (then 80,- 
000), increased by several thousand recruits; 5,000 men under 
Hovey; the Twenty-third Corps (Schofield's), from Knoxville; and 
two divisions of the Sixteenth, from North Alabama. Major-Gen- 
eral Wheeler estimated the cavalry of that army at 15,000. On the 
5th of May this army was in line between Ringgold and Tunnel Hill, 
and, after skirmishing on that and the following day, on the 7th 
pressed back our advanced troops to Mill Creek Gap. On the same 
day Brigadier-General Cantey reached Resaca with his brigade, and 
was halted there. On the 8th, at 4 p. m., a division of Hooker's 



Johnston s Report f>7 ( > 

corps assaulted Dug Gap, which was bravely held by two 
regiments of Reynolds' (Arkansas) brigade and Grigsby's 
brigade of Kentucky cavalry, fighting on foot, until the arrival of 
Lieutenant-General" Hardee with Granbury's brigade, when the 
enemy was put to flight. On the 9th five assaults were made on 
Lieutenant-General Hood's troops on Rocky Face Mountain. All 
were repulsed. In the afternoon a report was received that Logan's 
and Dodge's corps were in Snake Creek Gap. Three divisions un- 
der Lieutenant-General Hood, were therefore sent to Resaca. On 
the 10th Lieutenant-General Hood reported the enemy retiring. 
Skirmishing, to our advantage, continued all day near Dalton. 
Major-General Bate repulsed a vigorous attack at night. 
On the nth Brigadier-General Cantey reported that the 
enemy was again approaching Resaca. Lieutenant-General Polk 
arrived there in the evening with Loring's division, and was instruct- 
ed to defend the place with those troops and Cantey's. The usual 
skirmishing continued near Dalton. Rocky Face Mountain and 
Snake Creek Gap, at its south end, completely covered for the enemy 
the operation of turning Dalton. On the 12th the Federal army, 
covered by the mountain, moved by Snake Creek Gap toward Resaca. 
Major-General Wheeler, with 2,200 of ours, attacked and defeated 
more than double that number of Federal cavalry near Varnell's Sta- 
tion. At night our artillery and infantry marched for Resaca. The 
cavalry followed on the 13th. On that day the enemy, approaching 
on the' Snake Creek Gap road, was checked by Loring's troops, which 
gave time for the formation of Hardee's and Hood's corps, just ar- 
riving. As the armv was formed, the left of Polk's corps was on the 
Oostenaula and the "right of Hood's on the Connesauga. There 
was brisk skirmishing during the afternoon on Polk's front and Har- 
dee's left. On the 14th the enemy made several attacks, the most 
vigorous on Hindman's division (Hood's left). All were hand- 
somely repulsed. At 6 p. m. Hood advanced with Stevenson's and 
Stewa'rt's divisions, supported by two of Walker's brigades, driving 
the enemy from his ground before night. He was instructed to be 
ready to continue the offensive next morning. At 9 p. m. I learned 
that "Lieutenant-General Polk's troops had lost a position command- 
ing our bridges, and received from Major-General Martin a report 
that Federal infantry was crossing the Oostenaula, near Calhoun, 
on a pontoon bridge." The instructions to Lieutenant-General Hood 
were revoked, and Walker's division sent to the point named by 
Major-General Martin. On the 15th there was severe skirmishing 
on the whole front. Major-General Walker reported no movement 
near Calhoun. Lieutenant-General Hood was directed to prepare 
to move forward, his right leading, supported by two brigades from 
Polk's and Hardee's corps. When he was about to move inform a- 



680 Appendix 

tion came from Major-General Walker that the Federal right was 
crossing the river. To meet this movement Lieutenant-General 
Hood's attack was countermanded. Stewart's division not receiv- 
ing- the order from corps quarters in time, attacked unsuccessfully. 
'J "he army was ordered to cross the Oostenaula that night, destroy- 
ing- the bridges behind it. On the 16th the enemy crossed the Oos- 
tenaula. Lieutenant-General Hardee skirmished with them success- 
fully near Calhoun. The fact that part of Polk's troops were still 
in the rear, and the great numerical superiority of the Federal army, 
made it expedient to risk battle only when position or some blunder 
on the part of the enemy might give us counterbalancing advantages. 
I, therefore, determined to fall back slowly until circumstances 
should put the chances of battle in our favor, keeping so near the 
United States army as to prevent its sending re-enforcements to 
( irant, and hoping, by taking advantage of positions and oppor- 
tunities, to reduce the odds against us by partial engagements. I 
also expected it to be materially reduced before the end of June by 
the expiration of the terms of service of many of the regiments which 
had not re-enlisted. in this way we fell back to Cassville in two 
marches. 

At Adairsville (about midway), on the i/th, Polk's cavalry, under 
Brigadier-General Jackson, met the army, and Hardee after severe 
skirmishing checked the enemy. At this point, on the 18th, Polk's 
and Hood's corps took the direct road to Cassville, Hardee's that by 
Kingston. About half the Federal army took each road. French's 
division having joined Polk's corps on the 18th, on the morning of 
the 19th, when half the Federal army was near Kingston, the two 
corps at Cassville were ordered to advance against the troops that had 
followed them from Adairsville. Hood's leading on the right. 

When this corps had advanced some two miles one of his staff 
officers reported to Lieutenant-General Hood that the enemy was ap- 
proaching on the Canton road, in rear of the right of our original 
position. He drew hack his troops and formed them across that 
road. When it was discovered that the officer was mistaken, the 
opportunity had passed by the near approach of the two portions of 
the Federal arm}'. Expecting to be attacked, I drew up the troops 
in what seemed to me an excellent position — a bold ridge immedi- 
ately in the rear of Cassville, with an open valley before it. The 
fire of the enemy's artillery commenced soon after the troops were 
formed, and continued until night. Soon after dark Lieutenant- 
( renerals Polk and Hood together expressed to me decidedly the 
opinion formed upon the observation of the afternoon, that the Fed- 
eral artillery would render their position untenable the next day, and 
urged me to abandon the ground immediately and cross the Etowah. 
Lietenant-General Hardee, whose position I thought weakest, was 



Johnston' s Re poil 68 1 

confident he could hold it. The other two officers were so earnest. 
however, and so unwilling to depend on the ability of their corps to 
defend the ground, that I yielded, and the army crossed the Etowah 
on the 20th, a step which I have regretted ever since. Wheeler's 
cavalry was placed in observation above and Jackson's below the rail- 
road. < )u the 22nd Major-General Wheeler was sent with all his 
troops not required for observation to the enemy's rear, and on the 
24th. beat a brigade at Cassville and took or burned 250 loaded 
wagons. In the meantime the enemy was reported by Jackson's 
troops moving down the Etowah, as if to cross it near Stilesborough, 
and crossing on the 23d. On the 24th Polk's and Hardee's corps 
reached the road from Stilesborough to Atlanta, a few miles south of 
Dallas, and Hood's four miles from New Hope Church, on the road 
from Allatoona. On the 25th the enemy was found to be entrenched 
near and east of Dallas. Hood's corps was placed with its center 
near Xew Hope Church, and Polk's and Hardee's ordered between 
it and the Atlanta road, which Hardee's left was to cover. An hour 
before sunset Stewart's division, at New Hope Church, was fiercely 
attacked by Hooker's corps, which it repulsed after a hot engagement 
of two hours. Skirmishing was kept up on the 26th and 27th. At 
5.30 p. m. on the 27th Howard's corps assailed Cleburne's division, 
and was driven back about dark with great slaughter. In these two 
actions our troops were not entrenched. Our loss in each was about 
450 killed and wounded. On the 27th the enemy's dead, except 
those borne off, were counted 600. We therefore estimated their 
loss at 3,000 at least. It was probably greater on the 25th, as we 
had a larger force engaged then, both of artillery and infantry. The 
usual skirmishing was kept up on the 28th. Lieutenant-General 
Hood, finding the Federal left covered by a division which had en- 
trenched itself in the night, thought it expedient to attack, so reported 
and asked for instructions. As the resulting delay made the attack 
inexpedient, even if it had not been so before, by preventing the 
surprise which success in a great degree depended, he was recalled. 
Skirmishing continued until the 4th of June, the enemy gradu- 
ally extending his entrenched line toward the railroad at Acworth. 
i )n the morning of the 5th the army was formed with its left at Lost 
Mountain, its center near Gilgal Church, and its right near the rail- 
road. On the 7th the right, covered by Noonday Creek, was ex- 
tended across the Acworth and Marietta road. The enemy ap- 
proached under cover of successive lines of intrenchments. There 
was brisk and incessant skirmishing until the 18th. ( )n the 14th 
the brave Lieutenant-General Polk, distinguished in every battle in 
which this army had fought, fell by a cannon-shot at an advanced 
post. Major-General Loring succeeded to the command, which he 
held until the 7th of July with great efficiency. 



682 Appendix 

On the 4th of June a letter from Governor Brown informed me 
that he had organized a division of infantry and placed it under my 
orders. These troops, when ready for service — about the middle 
of the month, under Maj.-Gen. G. W. Smith— were employed to de- 
fend the crossings of the Chattahoochee, to prevent the surprise of 
Atlanta by the Federal cavalry. On the 19th a new line was taken 
by the army. Hood's corps with its right on the Marietta and Canton 
road, Loring's on the Kenesaw Mountain, and Hardee's with its left 
extending across the Lost Mountain and Marietta road. The enemy 
approached as usual under cover of intrenchments. In this position 
there was incessant fighting and skirmishing until July 3, the enemy 
gradually extending his intrenched right toward Atlanta. 

On the 20th of June Wheeler, with 1,100 men, routed Garrard's 
division of Federal cavalry on our right. On the 21st Hood's corps 
was transferred from right to left, Wheeler's cavalry taking charge 
of the position which it left. On the 22d Lieutenant-General Hood 
reported that Hindman's and Stevenson's divisions, of his corps, be- 
ing attacked, drove back the enemy, taking a line of his breastworks, 
but were compelled to withdraw by the fire of fortified artillery. On 
the 24th Hardee's skirmishers repulsed a line of battle, as did Steven- 
son's, of Hood's corps, on the 25th. On the 27th, after a furious 
cannonade of several hours, the enemy made a general advance, but 
was everywhere repulsed with heavy loss. The assaults were most 
vigorous on Cheatham's and Cleburne's divisions, of Hardee's corps, 
and French's and Featherston's, of Loring's. Lieutenant-General 
Hardee reports that Cheatham's division lost in killed, wounded, and 
missing 195 ; the enemy opposed to it. by the statement of a staff offi- 
cer subsequently captured, 2,000. The loss of Cleburne's division, 
11 ; that of the enemy in his front, 1,000. Major-General Loring 
reported 236 of his corps killed, wounded, and missing, and the loss 
of the enemy, by their own estimates, at between 2,500 and 3,000, 
which he thinks very small. 

On the 1st of July Major-General Smith's division was ordered 
to support the cavalry on our left. Their effective total was about 
1,500. On the 2d, the enemy's right being nearer to Atlanta by sev- 
eral miles than our left, the army fell back during the night to 
Smyrna Church. On the 4th Major-General Smith reported that 
he should be compelled to withdraw on the morning of the 5th to the 
line of intrenchments covering the railroad bridge and Turner's 
Ferry. The army was therefore ordered to retire at the same time 
to that line to secure our bridges. The cavalry crossed the Chatta- 
hoochee, Wheeler observing it for some twenty miles above, and 
Jackson as far below. The enemy advanced as far as usual covered 
by intrenchments. Skirmishing continued until the 9th. Our in- 
fantrv and artillerv were brought to the southeast side of the river 



J oil list on' $ Report 683 

that night because two Federal corps had crossed it above Powers' 
Ferry on the 8th and intrenched. Lieutenant-General Stewart took 
command of his corps on the 7th. 

The character of Peachtree Creek and the numerous fords on 
the Chattahoochee above its mouth prevented my trying to defend 
that part of the river. The broad and muddy channel of the creek 
would have separated the two parts of the army. It and the river 
above its mouth were therefore taken as our line. A position on 
the high ground south of the creek was selected for the army which 
was to attack the enemy while crossing. The engineer officers, with 
a large force of negroes, were set to work to strengthen the fortifica- 
tions of Atlanta, and mount on them seven heavy rifles borrowed 
from Major-General Maury. The chief engineer was instructed 
to devote his attention first to the works between the Decatur and 
Marietta roads ; to put them in such condition that they might be 
held by the State troops, so that the army might attack the enemy in 
flank when he approached he town. This in the event that we should 
be unsuccessful in attacking the Federal army in its passage of 
Peachtree Creek. After the armies were separated by the Chatta- 
hoochee skirmishing became less severe. 

On th 14th a division of Federal cavalry crossed the river by 
Moore's bridge, near Newnan, but was driven back by Armstrong's 
brigade, sent by Brigadier-General Jackson to meet it. On the 1 5th 
Governor Brown informed me orally that he hoped to reinforce the 
army before the end of the month with nearly 10,000 State troops. 
On the 17th the main body of the Federal army crossed the Chatta- 
hoochee between Roswell and Power's Ferry. At 10 p. m.. while 
I was giving Lieutenant-Colonel Presstman, chief engineer, instruc- 
tions in regard to his work of the next day on the fortifications of At- 
lanta, a telegram was received from General Cooper informing me, 
by direction of the Secretary of War, that as I had failed to arrest 
the advance of the enemy to the vicinity of Atlanta, and expressed no 
confidence that I could defeat or repel him, I was relieved from the 
command of the army and department of Tennessee, which would 
immediately be turned over to General Hood. This was done at 
once. On the morning of the 18th the enemy was reported to be 
advancing, and at General Hood's request I continued to give orders 
until afternoon, placing the troops in the position selected near Peach- 
tree Creek. 

In transferring the command to General Hood I explained my 
plans to him : First to attack the Federal army while crossing 
Peachtree Creek. If we were successful great results might be 
hoped for, as the enemy would have both the creek and the river to 
intercept his retreat. Second, if unsuccessful, to keep back the enemy 
by intrenching, to give time for the assembling of the State troops 



684 Appendix 

promised by Governor Brown, to garrison Atlanta with those troops, 
and when the Federal army approached the town attack it on its 
most exposed flank with all the Confederate troops. These troops, 
who had been for seventy-four days in the immediate presence of the 
enemy — laboring- and fighting daily, enduring toil, exposure, and 
danger with equal cheerfulness, more confident and high-spirited 
than when the Federal army presented itself near Dalton — were then 
inferior to none who ever served the Confederacy. 

Under the excellent administration of Brigadier-General Mackall, 
chief of staff, the troops were well equipped and abundantly supplied. 
The draft animals of the artillery and quartermaster's department 
were in better condition on the 18th of July than on the 5th of May. 
We lost no material in the retreat except the four field pieces men- 
tioned in the accompanying report of General Hood. 

I commenced the campaign with General Bragg's army of Mis- 
sionary Ridge, with one brigade added (Mercer's) and two taken 
away (Baldwin's and Quarles'). That opposed to us was Grant's 
army of Missionary Ridge, then estimated at 80,000 by our principal 
officers, increased, as I have stated, by two corps, a division, and sev- 
eral thousand recruits — in all, at least 30,000 men. The cavalry of 
that army was estimated by Major-General Wheeler at 15,000. The 
re-enforcements which joined our army amounted to 15,000 infantry 
and artillery and 4,000 cavalry. Our scouts reported much greater 
numbers joining the United States army — garrisons and bridge 
guards from Tennessee and Kentucky, relieved by 100-days' men, 
and the Seventeenth Corps, with 2,000 cavalry. 

The loss of our infantry and artillery from the 5th of May had 
been about 10,000 in killed and wounded, and 4,700 from all other 
causes, mainly slight sickness produced by heavy cold rains, which 
prevailed in the latter half of June. These and the slightly wound- 
ed were beginning to rejoin their regiments. 

For want of reports I am unable to give the loss or the services 
of the cavalry, which was less under my eye than the rest of the army. 
Its effective strength was increased by about 2,000 during the cam- 
paign. The effective force transferred to General Hood was about 
41,000 infantry and artillery and 10,000 cavalry. 

According to the opinions of our most experienced officers, daily 
reports of prisoners, and statements of Northern papers, the enemy's 
loss in action could not have been less than five times as great as 
ours. Tn the cases in which we had the means of estimating it, it 
ranged from 7 to 1 to 91 to 1, compared with ours, and averaged 13 
to 1. The Federal prisoners concurred in saying that their heaviest 
loss occurred in the daily attacks made in line of battle upon our skir- 
mishers in their rifle-pits. Whether they succeeded in dislodging 
our skirmishers or not, their loss was heavy and ours almost noth- 
ing. 



Johnston ' s Report 685 

At Dalton the great numerical superiority of the enemy made the 
chances of battle much against us, and even if beaten they had a safe 
refuge behind the fortified pass of Ringgold and in the fortress of 
Chattanooga. ( )ur refuge in case of defeat was in Atlanta, 100 
miles off, with three rivers intervening. Therefore, victory for us 
could not have been decisive, while defeat would have been utterly 
disastrous. Between Dalton and Chattahoochee we could have 
given battle only by attacking the enemy intrenched, or so near in- 
trenchments that the only result of success to vis would have been his 
falling back into them, while defeat would have, been our ruin. In 
the course pursued our troops, always fighting under cover, had very 
trifling losses compared with those they inflicted, so that the enemy's 
numerical superiority was reduced daily and rapidly, and we could 
reasonably have expected to cope with the Federal army on equal 
ground by the time the Chattahoochee was passed. Defeat on this 
side of that river would have been its destruction. We, if beaten, 
had a place of refuge in Atlanta too strong to be assaulted and too 
extensive to be invested. 1 had also hoped that by the breaking of 
the railroad in its rear the Federal army might be compelled to attack 
us in a position of our own choosing, or to a retreat easily converted 
into a rout. After we crossed the Etowah five detachments of cav- 
alry were successively sent with instructions to destroy as much as 
they could of the railroad between Dalton and the Etowah. All 
failed because too weak. We could never spare sufficient body of 
cavalry for this service, as its assistance was absolutely necessary in 
the defense of every position we occupied. Captain Harvey, an offi- 
cer of great courage and sagacity, was detached on this service with 
760 men on the nth of June, and remained for several weeks near 
the railroad, frequently interrupting ( although not strong enough to 
prevent) its use. 

Earlv in the campaign the statements of the strength of the cav- 
alry in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana given me 
by Lieutenant-General Polk, just from the command of that depart- 
ment, and my telegraphic correspondence with his successor, Lieuten- 
ant-General S. D. Lee, gave me reason to hope that a competent force 
could be sent from Louisiana and Alabama to prevent the use of the 
railroad by the United States army. I therefore suggested it to the 
President directly on the 13th of June and 16th of July, and through 
General Bragg on the 3rd, 12th, 13th, 14th and 26th of June, and 
also to Lieutenant-General Lee on the 10th of May and 3d, 1 ith and 
16th of June. I did so in the belief that the cavalry would serve 
the Confederacy better by causing the defeat of Major-General Sher- 
man's army than by repelling a raid in Mississippi. 

Besides the causes of my removal alleged in the telegram an- 
nouncing it, various other accusations have been made against me ; 



686 Appendix 

some published in newspapers, in such a manner as to appear to have 
official authority, and others circulated orally in Georgia and Ala- 
bama, and imputed to General Bragg. The principal are, that I 
persistently disregarded the instructions of the President ; that I 
would not fight the enemy, that I refused to defend Atlanta ; that I 
refused to communicate with General Bragg in relation to the oper- 
ations of the army. I had not the advantage of receiving the Presi- 
dent's instructions in relation to the manner of conducting the cam- 
paign, but as to the conduct of my predecessor in retreating before 
odds less than those confronting me had apparently been approved, 
and as General Lee, in keeping on the defensive and retreating 
toward Grant's objective point under circumstances like mine, was 
adding to his great fame, both in the estimation of the administra- 
tion and people, I supposed that my course would not be censured. 
I believed then as I do now, that it was the only one at my command 
which promised success. 

I think that the foregoing narrative shows that the Army of 
Tennessee did fight, and with at least as much effect as it did before. 
The proofs that I intended to hold Atlanta are, the fact that under 
my orders the work of strengthening its defenses was going on 
vigorously, the communication made by me to General Hood, and 
the fact that my family was in the town. That the public work- 
shops were removed and no large supplies deposited in the town, as 
alleged by General Bragg, were measures of common prudence, and 
no more indicated an intention to abandon the place than the send- 
ing of wagons of an army to the rear on a day of battle proves a fore- 
gone determination to abandon the field. 

While General Bragg was at Atlanta, about the middle of July, 
we had no other conversation concerning the army than I introduced. 
He asked me no questions regarding its operations, past or future ; 
made no comments upon them nor suggestions, and had not the 
slightest reason to suppose that Atlanta would not be defended. He 
told me that the object of his journey was to confer with Lieutenant- 
General Lee and communicate with General E. K. Smith in relation 
to reinforcements for me. He talked much more of affairs in Vir- 
ginia than in Georgia, asserting, what I believed, that General Sher- 
man's army outnumbered Grant's, and impressed me with the belief 
that his visits to me were unofficial. 

A copy of a brief report by General Hood accompanies this. 
Most respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J. E. Johnston, 

General. 



Johnston' s Report 687 

Report of General John B. Hood, C. S. Army, commanding Army 
of Tennessee, of operations July 18-September 6. 

Richmond, Va., February 15, 1865. 

General: I have the honor to submit the following report of 
the operations of the Army of the Tennessee while commanded by 
me, from July 18, 1864, to January 23, 1865 : 

The results of a campaign do not always show how the general in 
command has discharged his duty. The inquiry should be not what 
he has done, but what he should have accomplished with the means 
under his control. To appreciate the operations of the Army of 
Tennessee it is necessary to look at its history during the three 
months which preceded the day on which I was ordered to its com- 
mand. To do this it is necessary either to state in this report all 
the facts which illustrate the entire operations of the Army of Ten- 
nessee in the recent campaign, or to write a supplemental or accom- 
panying report. I deem the former more appropriate, and will, 
therefore, submit in a single paper all the information which seems 
to me should be communicated to the Government. 

On the 6th of May, 1864, the army lay at and near Dalton await- 
ing the advance of the enemy. Never had so large a Confederate 
army assembled in the West. Seventy thousand effective men were 
in the easy direction of a single commander, whose good fortune it 
was to be able to give successful battle and redeem the losses of the 
past. Extraordinary efforts had been used to secure an easy vic- 
tory. The South had been denuded of troops to fill the strength of 
the Army of Tennessee. Mississippi and Alabama were without 
military support, and looked for protection in decisive battle in the 
mountains of Georgia. The vast forces of the enemy were accumu- 
lating in the East, and to retard their advance or confuse their plans, 
much was expected by a counter-movement by us in the West. The 
desires of the Government expressed to the Confederate commander 
in the West were to assume the offensive. Nearly all the men and 
resources of the West and South were placed at his disposal for the 
purpose. The men amounted to the number already stated, and the 
resources for their support were equal to the demand. The re-en- 
forcements were within supporting distance. The troops felt strong 
in their increased numbers, saw the means and arrangements to move 
forward and recover (not abandon) our own territory, and believed 
that victory might be achieved. In such condition was that splen- 
did army when the active campaign fairly opened. The enemv, but 
little superior in numbers, none in organization and discipline, in- 
ferior in spirit and confidence, commenced his advance. The Con- 
federate forces, whose faces and hopes were to the North, almost 
simultaneously commenced to retreat. They soon reached posi- 
tions favorable for resistance. Great ranges of mountains running 



688 . \ppendix 

across the line of march and deep rivers are stands from which a 
well-directed army is not so easily driven or turned. At each advance 
of the enemy the Confederate army, without serious resistance, fell 
back to the next range or river in the rear. This habit to retreat 
soon became a routine of the army, and was substituted for the hope 
and confidence with which the campaign opened. The enemy soon 
perceived tins. With perfect security he divided his forces, using 
one column to menace in front and one to threaten in rear. The 
usual order to retreat, not strike in detail, was issued and obeyed. 
These retreats were always at night; the day was consumed in hard 
labor. Daily temporary works were thrown up, behind which it 
was never intended to fight. The men became travelers by night 
and laborers by day. They were ceasing to be soldiers by the dis- 
use of military duty. dims for seventy-four days and nights that 
noble army — if ordered to resist, no force that the enemy could as- 
semble could dislodge from the battle field — continued to abandon 
their country, to see their strength departing, and their dag waving 
only in retreat or in partial engagements. At the end of that time, 
after descending from the mountains where the last advantage of 
position was abandoned, and campaigning without fortifications on 
the open plains of Georgia, the army had lost 22,750 of its best sol- 
diers. Nearly one-third was gone, no general battle fought, much 
of our State abandoned, two others uncovered, and the organization 
and efficiency of every command, by loss of officers, men and tone, 
seriouslv diminished. 1 diese things were the inevitable result of the 
strategy adopted. It is impossible for a large army to retreat in the 
face of the pursuing enemy without such a fate. In a retreat the 
losses are constant and permanent. Stragglers are overtaken, the 
fatigued fall by the wayside and are gathered by the advancing 
enemy. Every position by the rear guard, if taken, yields its 
wounded to the victors. The soldiers, always awakened from rest 
at night to continue the retreat, leave many of their comrades asleep 
in trenches. The losses of a single day are not large. Those of 
seventy-four days will embrace the strength of an army. If a battle 
be fought and the field held at the close, however great the slaughter, 
the loss will be less than to retreat in the face of an enemy. There 
will be no stragglers. Desertions are in retreat ; rarely, if ever, on 
the field of battle. The wounded are gathered to the rear and soon 
recover, and in a few weeks the entire loss consists only of the killed 
and permanently disabled, which is not one-fifth of the apparent loss 
on the night of the battle. The enemy is checked, his plans deranged, 
territory saved, the campaign suspended or won. If a retreat still 
be necessary it can be done with no enemy pressing and no loss fol- 
lowing. The advancing party loses nothing but its killed and per- 
manentlv disabled. Neither straggler or deserter thins its ranks. 



Johnston s Report 689 

It reaches the end stronger for battle than when it started. The 
army commanded by General Sherman and that commanded by Gen- 
eral Johnston, not greatly unequal at the commencement of the cam- 
paign, illustrates what T have written. General Sherman in his offi- 
cial report states that his forces, when they entered Atlanta, were 
nearly the same in number as when they left Dalton. The Army of 
Tennessee 22,750 men less, nearly one-third of its strength. I have 
nothing to say of the statement of losses made by General Johnston 
in his official report, except to state that by his own figures he under- 
states the loss some thousands ; that he excludes the idea of any pris- 
oners, although his previous official returns show r more than 7,000 
under the head, "absent without leave," and that the returns of the 
army while he was in command, corrected and increased by the rec- 
ords of the army, which has not been fully reported to the Govern- 
ment, and the return signed by me, but made up under him as soon 
as I assumed command, show the losses of the Army of the Tennes- 
see to be what I have stated, and a careful examination of the returns 
with the army will show the losses to be more than stated. 

This statement of the previous conduct of the campaign is neces- 
sary, so as to show what means I had to retrieve the disasters of the 
past, and if the results are not such as to bring joy to the country, it 
is not the first time that the most faithful efforts of duty were unable 
to repair the injury done by others. If, as is untruly charged, the 
Army of Tennessee ceased to exist under my command, it is also 
true that it received its mortal wound when it turned its back in re- 
treat in the mountains of Georgia, and under different management 
it lingered much longer than it would have done with the same daily 
loss occurring when it was placed under my direction. 

The army was turned over to me, by order of the President, at 
Atlanta, on the 18th of July, 1864. Its effective strength was: In- 
fantry, 33,750; artillery. 3,500; cavalry, 10,000, with 1,500 Georgia 
militia, commanded by Mai. -Gen. G. W. Smith, making a total ef- 
fective of 48,750 men. The enemy was in bivouac south of the 
Chattahoochee River, between Atlanta and that river, and was ad- 
vancing, the right near face's Ferry and the left near Roswell. On 
the evening of the 18th our cavalry was principally driven across 
Peach Tree Creek. I caused line of battle to be formed, the left 
resting near the Pace's Ferry road and the right covering Atlanta. 
On the morning of the 19th the dispositions of the enemy were sub- 
stantially as follows : The Army of the Cumberland, under Thomas, 
was in the act of crossing Peach Tree Creek. This creek, forming 
a considerable obstacle to the passage of an army, runs in a north- 
westerly direction, emptying into the Chattahoochee River near the 
railroad crossing. The Army of the Ohio, under Schofield, was 
also about to cross east of the Buck Head road. The Army of the 
44-1 



690 Appendix 

Tennessee, under McPherson, was moving on the Georgia Railroad 
at Decatur. Feeling it impossible to hold Atlanta without giving 
battle, I determined to strike the enemy while attempting to cross 
this stream. My troops were disposed as follows: Stewart's corps 
on the left, Hardee's in the center, and Cheatham's on the right, in- 
trenched. My obect was to crush Thomas' arm}- before he could 
fortify himself, and then turn upon Schofield and McPherson. To 
do this Cheatham was ordered to hold his left on the creek, in order 
to separate Thomas' army from the forces on his (Thomas) left. 
Thus 1 should be able to throw two corps ( Stewart's and Hardee's) 
against Thomas. Specific orders were carefully given these gen- 
erals in the presence of each other, as follows : The attack was to 
to begin at 1 p. m.. the movement to be by division in echelon from 
the right, at the distance of about 150 yards, the effort to be to drive 
the enemy back to the creek, and then toward the river into the nar- 
row space formed by the river and creek, everything on our side of 
the creek to be taken at all hazards, and to follow up as our success 
might permit. Each of these generals was to hold a division in re- 
serve. ( Kving to the demonstrations of the enemy on the right, it 
became necessarv to extend Cheatham a division front to the right. 
To do this Hardee and Stewart were each ordered to extend a half 
division front to close the interval. Foreseeing that some confu- 
sion and delay might result, T was careful to call General Hardee's 
attention to the importance of having a staff officer on his left to see 
that the left did not take more than half a division front. This un- 
fortunately was not attended to, and the line closed to the right, caus- 
ing Stewart to move two or three times the proper distance. In 
consequence of this the attack was delayed until nearly 4 p. m. At 
tb is hour the attack began as ordered, Stewart's corps carrying the 
temporary works in his front. Hardee failed to push the attack, as 
ordered, and thus the enemy, remaining in possession of his works 
on Stewart's right, compelled Stewart by an enfilade fire to abandon 
the position he had carried. I have every reason to believe that our 
attack woidd have been successful had my order been executed. I 
am strengthened in this opinion by information since obtained 
through Brigadier-General Govan, sometime a prisoner in the 
enemy's hands, touching the conditon of the enemy at the time. The 
delay from 1 to 4 p. m. was unfortunate, but would not have proved 
irretrievable had the attack been vigorously made. Ascertaining 
that the attack had failed, T caused the troops to retire to their for- 
mer positions. 

The positions and demonstration of McPherson's army on the 
right threatening my communications made it necessary to abandon 
Atlanta or check his movements. Unwilling to abandon, the follow- 
ing- instructions were given on the morning; of the 21st : The chief 



Johnston s Report 69] 

engineer was selected to select a line of defence immediately about 
Atlanta, the works already constructed for the defense of the place 
being wholly useless from thier position ; Stewart's and Cheatham's 
corps to take position and construct works to defend the city, the 
former on the left, the latter on the right. The artillery, under the 
command of Brigadier-General Shoup, was massed on the extreme 
right. Hardee was ordered to move with his corps during the night 
of the 21st south of the McDonough road, crossing Intrenchment 
Creek at Cobb's Mills, and to completely turn the left of McPher- 
son's army. This he was to do, even should it be necessary to get 
to or beyond Decatur. Wheeler, with his cavalry, was ordered to 
move to Hardee's right, both to attack at daylight, or as soon 
after as possible. As soon as Hardee succeeded in forcing back the 
enemy's left, Cheatham was to take up the movement from his right 
and continue to force the whole from right to left down Peachtree 
Creek, Stewart in like manner to engage the enemy as soon as the 
movement became general. Hardee failed to entirely turn the 
enemy's left as directed, took position and attacked his flank. His 
troops fought with great spirit and determination, carrying several 
lines of intrenchments. Wheeler attacking on the right. Finding 
Hardee so hotly engaged, and fearing the enemy might concentrate 
upon him, T ordered Cheatham forward to create a diversion. Har- 
dee held the ground he gained, Cheatham carried the enemy's en- 
trenchments in his front, but had to abandon them in consequence of 
the enfilade fire brought to bear upon him. Cheatham captured five 
guns and five or six stand of colors, and Hardee eight guns and thir- 
teen stand of colors. While the grand results desired were not ac- 
complished, the movement of McPherson upon my communications 
were entirely defeated, and no further effort was made in that di- 
rection at any time. This engagement greatly inspired the troops 
and revived their confidence. Here. I regret to say, the brave and 
gallant Ma j .-Gen. W. H. T. Walker was killed. The enemy with- 
drew his left to the Georgia Railroad and strongly intrenched him- 
self, and here probably began the siege of Atlanta. It became appa- 
rent immediately that it would attempt our left. He began to mass 
his forces in that quarter. On the 28th it became manifest that the 
enemy desired to place his left (right) on Utoy Creek. I desired 
to hold the Lick Skillet road, and accordingly ordered Lieutenant- 
General Lee — who on the 25th ( 26th ? ) had relieved Major-General 
Cheatham from the command of the corps formerly commanded by 
himself — to move his forces so as to prevent the enemy from gain- 
ing that road. He was ordered to hold the enemy in check on a 
line nearly parallel with the Lick Skillet road, running through to 
Ezra Church. General Lee. finding that the enemy had already 
gained that position, engaged him with the intention to recover that 



692 Appendix 

line. This brought on the engagement of the 28th. General Stew- 
art was ordered to support General Lee. The engagement contin- 
ued until dark, the road remaining in our possession. 

( )n the 27th of July I received information that the enemy's cav- 
alry was moving round our right with the design of interrupting 
our communication with Macon. The next day a large cavalry 
force also crossed the Chattahoochee River at Campbellton, moving 
round our left. Major-General Wheeler was ordered to move upon 
the force on the right, while Brigadier-General Jackson, with Harri- 
son's and Ross' brigades, was sent to look after those moving on the 
left. 1 also dispatched Lewis' brigade of infantry down the Macon 
railroad to a point about where they would probably strike the road. 
The force on the left succeeded in reaching the road, tearing up an 
inconsiderable part of the track. It was the design of the enemy to 
unite his forces at the railroad, but in this he was defeated. The 
movement was undertaken by the enemy on a grand scale, having 
carefully picked his men and horses. A Federal force, under Gen- 
eral Stoneman, moved farther south against Macon. He was de- 
feated by our forces under Brigadier-General Iverson. General 
Wheeler, leaving General Kelly to hold the force on the right, moved 
against that already at the railroad. He succeeded in forcing them 
to give battle near Newnan on the 30th. and routed and captured or 
destroyed the whole force. Too much credit cannot be given Gen- 
eral Wheeler for the energy and skill displayed. He captured two 
pieces of artillery, 950 prisoners, and many horses, equipments, etc. 
Brigadier-General Iverson captured two pieces of artillery and 500 
prisoners. Believing the enemy's cavalry well broken, and feeling 
myself safe from any further serious operations of a like nature, I 
determined to dispatch a force of cavalry to the enemy's rear, with 
the hope of destroying his communications. I accordingly ordered 
Major-General Wheeler, with 4,500 cavalry, to effect this object. He 
succeeded in partially interrupting the enemy's communications by 
railroad. This still left sufficient cavalry to meet the necessities of 
the army. This is sufficiently shown by the fact that several deter- 
mined cavalry movements were subsequently attempted and success- 
fully met by our cavalry. From this time till the 26th of August 
there is nothing of any particular moment to mention. The enemy 
gradually extended his right, and I was compelled to follow his 
movement : our entire front was covered with a most excellent abatis 
and other obstructions. Too much credit cannot be given the troops 
generally for the industry and endurance they displayed under the 
constant fire of the enemy. On the 26th of August the enemy aban- 
doned his works on the extreme right and took up a line, the left 
resting in front of our works on the Dalton railroad and extending 
to the railroad crossing the river. Again he withdrew, on the night 



Johnston s Report 693 

of the 27th, acmss the Utov Creek, throwing one corps across the 

rive L, hold the railroad crossing and the mtermedia te pom s LLs 

left then rested on the Chattahoochee River, strongly fortified and 

J ten d „ lc o s the West Point Railroad. The corps defending 
extending acre ss : . side of the nvei% 

the crossing 01 the I hattanoocnee, nib ^ v«*»Vq rendered it 

and the obstacle formed by the I toy and ( amp .Creeks, renderedit 

impossible for me to attack him with any possibility of success be 

ween the river and the railroad. < )n the 30th it became knov, n that 

h^ enemv was moving on fonesborough with two corps. I deter- 

Har lee" and Lee's corps moved accordingly, Hardee in command, 
^impressed upon General ^^^ ate of £*££ 

» luc^r^d ?rat rrr~£ s £ 

aTa which woild thus he compelled. . As it turned ^ -success- 
ful it allowed the enemy the opportunity either to s Tike us ^as we 
moved out of Atlanta or to concentrate on Hardee. Lee s corps con 
Sted a guard against the former, and I did not fear the destruc- 
tion of HaSee before Stewart and Lee could join him, as his position 
on ar dge between two rivers 1 thought strong in front and war * of 
time would prevent the enemv from attacking him in flank. lhe 
smallTos inHardee's corps, and the much greater loss of the enemy, 
small loss « "araee { ^ Jonesborough faded, 

though h en umber of men on our side greatly exceeded the enemy, 

T "vfgo of the attack may be in some sort imagined when on vi 400 

were killed and wounded out of the two corps engaged The failure 

Stated the evacuation of Atlanta. ^*^ 

oners at Andersonville, Ga, in my rear, compelled me to place _the 

armv between them and the enemy, thus preventing me at that time 

? on mov no 01 his communications and destroying Ins depot of sup- 

1 es Tt Marietta A raid of cavalry could easily have released those 

r doners and the federal commander was ready to furnish them 

•, s Such a bodv of men, an army of itself, could have overrun 

^devastated the country from West Georgia to Savannah The 

s sequent ren 0va l of the prisoners, at my request, enabled me to 

m ke "a ove,uent on the enemy's communicator* at a later period. 

On the night of the 1st of September we withdrew from Atlanta. 

\ tran of ordnance stores and some railroad stock had to be de- 



694 Appendix 

stroyed in consequence of the gross neglect of the chief quarter- 
master to obey the specific instructions given him touching their re- 
moval. He had ample time and means, and nothing whatever ought 
to have been lost. 

On the first of September Hardee's corps was attacked in posi- 
tion at Jonesborough. The result was the loss of eight guns and 
some prisoners. Hardee then retired to Loveoy's Station, where 
he was joined by Stewart's and Lee's corps. The militia, numbering 
about 3,000, under Maj.-Gen. G. W. Smith, was ordered to Griffin. 
It is proper to remark here that this force rendered excellent and gal- 
lant service during the siege of Atlanta. The enemy followed and 
took position in our front. 

On the nth of September, however, he abandoned his works 
and returned to Atlanta. Here properly ended the operations about 
Atlanta. Of the forces turned over to me nearly two months be- 
fore, and since that day daily engaged in battle and skirmishes with 
a greatly superior enemy, there were remaining effective, as shown 
by the return of the 20th of September : Infantary, 27,094 ; cavalry, 
10,543 ; artillery, 2,766. There had been sent to Mobile one 
brigade of infantry, 800 strong, and to Macon three battalions of 
artillery, 800 strong. The militia had increased, as stated, but 
counting it at the same as originally turned over, we have, against 
the aggregate turned over, 48,750— present, 40,403 ; sent off, 3,100, 
making an aggregate of 43,503. thus giving a total loss of all arms 
of 5,247 men. 

And now, lest an opportunity should not be again presented, I 
trust I may be pardoned for noticing in self-defense one or two 
statements in General Johnston's report of the previous operations 
of this army, which has just been given to the public, in which the 
action of Lieutenant-General Polk and myself has been impugned. 
I thoroughly understand that it is not the part of an officer to state 
what may have occurred from time to time in council, but a charge 
publicly made ought certainly to be publicly met. 

Tn General Johnston's report he says : 

"On the morning of the 19th ( May), when half of the Federal 
army was near Kingston, the two corps at Cassville were ordered to 
advance against the troops that had followed them from Adairsville, 
Hood's leading on the right. When the corps had advanced some 
two miles one of his staff officers reported to Lieutenant-General 
Hood that the enemy was approaching on the Canton road, in rear 
of the right of our original position. He drew back his troops and 
formed them across that road. When it was discovered that the 
officer was mistaken, the opportunity had passed, by the near ap- 
proach of the Federal army. Expecting to be attacked I drew up 
my troops in what seemed to me an excellent position — a bold ridge 



Johnston 's Report 695 

immediately in the rear of Cassville, with an open valley before it. 
The fire of the enemy's artillery commenced soon after the troops 
were formed, and continued until night. Soon after dark Lieuten- 
ant-Generals Polk and Hood together expressed to me decidedly the 
opinion formed upon the observation of the afternoon, that the Fed- 
eral artillery would render their positions untenable the next day, 
and urged me to abandon the ground immediately and cross the Eto- 
wah. Lieutenant-General Hardee, whose position I thought weak- 
est, was confident that he could hold it. The other two officers, 
however, were so earnest and so unwilling to depend upon the ability 
of their corps to defend the ground that I yielded, and the army 
crossed the Etowah on the 28th [20th] — a step which I have re- 
gretted ever since." 

For myself and the good and great man, now deceased, with 
whom I am asosciated in this stricture, I offer a statement of the 
facts in reply: After the army had arrived at Cassville T proposed to 
General Johnston, in the presence of Generals Hardee and Polk, to 
move back upon the enemy and attack him at or near Adairsville, 
urging as a reason that our three corps could move back, each upon 
a separate road, while the enemy had but one main road upon which 
he could approach at that place. No conclusion was obtained. 
While Generals Polk and Flardee and myself were riding from Gen- 
eral Johnston's headquarters the matter was further discussed; Gen- 
eral Polk enthusiastically advocated, and General Hardee also favor- 
ing, the proposition. It was then suggested that we should return 
and still further urge the matter on General Johnston. We, how- 
ever, concluded to delay till the morning. The next morning, while 
we were assembled at General Johnston's headquarters, it was re- 
ported that the enemy was driving in the cavalry on the Adairsville 
road in front of Polk's position. Polk's corps was in line of battle, 
and my corps was in bivouac on his right. We all rode to the right 
of Polk's line, in front of my bivouac. Hardee soon left and went 
to his position, which was on the left, there being some report of the 
enemy in that direction. General Johnston said to me : 

"You can, if you desire, move your corps to the Canton road, 
and if Howard's corps is there you can attack it." 

My troops were put in motion. At the head of the column I 
moved over to this road and found it in possession of our own dis- 
mounted cavalry and no enemy there. While in motion a body of 
the enemy, which I supposed to be cavalry, made its appearance on 
the Canton road, in rear of the right of my original position. Major- 
General Hindman was then in that direction with his division to as- 
certain what force it was keeping the other two divisions in the vicin- 
ity of the Canton road. It was not a mistake (as General Johnston 
states ) that the force appeared, as is shown from the fact that Major- 
General Hindman had men wounded from the small-arms and artil- 



696 Appendix 

lery fired from this body. Maj. James Hamilton, of my staff, was 
sent to report to General Johnston the fact that the enemy had ap- 
peared on the Canton road. During Major Hamilton's absence 
Brigadier-General Mackall, chief of staff, rode up in great haste and 
said that General Johnston directed that I should not separate my- 
self so far from General Polk. I called his attention to where Gen- 
eral Folk's right was resting, and informed him that I could easily 
form upon it, and orders were given to that effect, throwing back my 
right to look after this body, which turned out to be the enemy's cav- 
alry. Feeling that I had done all which General Johnston had given 
me liberty to do, 1 then rode to his headquarters, where General 
Johnston decided to take up his line on the ridge in rear of the one 
occupied by ( ieneral Polk, a line which was enfiladed by heights, of 
which the enemy would at once possess himself, as was pointed out 
to General Johnston by Brigadier-General Shoup, commanding the 
artillery. In a very short time thereafter the enemy placed his artil- 
lery on these heights and began to enfilade General Polk's line. Ob- 
serving the effect upon the troops of this fire, I was convinced that 
the position was unsuited for defense. Accordingly, General Polk 
and myself said to General Johnston that our positions would prove 
untenable for defense, but that we were in as good position to ad- 
vance upon the enemy as could be desired. We told him that if he 
did not take the offensive he had better change our position. He 
accordingly ordered the army across the Etowah. 

It will thus be seen that I received no order to give battle, and 
I believe that had General Polk received such an order he would have 
mentioned it to me. Were General Polk now alive he would be as- 
tounded at the accusation made against him. 

Again General Johnston says : 

"That the usual skirmishing was kept up on the 28th (May). 
Lieutenant-General Hood was instructed to put his corps in position 
during the night to attack the enemy's left flank at dawn the next 
morning, the rest of the army to join in the attack successively from 
right to left. On the 29th (May) Lieutenant-General Hood, find- 
ing the Federal left covered by a division which had intrenched itself 
in the night, thought it inexpedient to attack; so reported and asked 
for instructions. As the resulting delay made the attack inexpedi- 
ent, even if it had not been so before, by preventing surprise upon 
which success in a great measure depended, he was recalled." 

The enemy on the 28th had extended his left flank across Alla- 
toona Creek and along die Acworth road. At my own suggestion 
General Johnston directed me to move my corps and strike the 
enemy's left. Upon arriving the next morning, and while moving 
to accomplish this. 1 found that the enemy had retired his flank a 
mile and strongly fortified it. The opportunitv having thus passed 



Johnstons Report 69J 

by the act of the enemy and not by my delay, I reported the fact to 
General Johnston, deeming it best that the attack should not be 
made, and the instructions to me were countermanded. 

My operations are now fully stated. It may not be improper 
to close with a general resume of the salient points presented. I was 
placed in command under the most trying circumstances which can 
surround an officer when assigned to a new and important command. 
The army was enfeebled in number and in spirit by long retreat and 
by severe and apparently fruitless losses. The Army of Tennessee 
between the 13th and 20'th of May, two months before, numbered 70.- 

000 arms-bearing men, as the report shows. It was at that time in 
most excellent condition and in full hope. It had dwindled day by 
day in partial engagements and skirmishes, without an action which 
could be properly called a battle, to 47,250, exclusive of 1,500 militia, 
which joined in 'the interim. What with this constant digging and 
retreating from Dalton to Atlanta, the spirits of the army 
were greatlv depressed and hope had almost left it. With this army 

1 immediately engaged the enemy, and the tone constantly improved 
and hope returned. " I defended Atlanta, a place without natural ad- 
vantages (or rather with all the advantages in favor of the enemy), 
for forty-three davs. No point, of all passed from Dalton down, 
was less susceptible of defense by nature. Every preparation was 
made to retreat. The army lay in bivouac a short distance from 
town, without attempting to construct works of defense in front of 
the camps, ready to resume the line of march as soon as the enemy 
pressed forward. 1 venture the statement that there was neither 
soldier or officer in that armv who believed that in the open plain be- 
tween Atlanta and the river battle would be offered, which had so 
often been refused in strong positions on the mountains. My first 
care was to make an entrenched line, and the enemy, despairing of suc- 
cess in front, threw his armv to the left and rear, a thing he never 
could have done had it not been for the immense advantages the 
Chattahoochee River gave him. I arrived at Lovejoy's Station, 
having fought our battles, and the official reports of the army on the 
20th of September show an effective total of 40403 present, giving 
a total loss in all this time of 5,247 men. 

I invite special attention to the report of Maj.-Gen. G. W. 
Smith of the operations of the Georgia militia in the vicinity of At- 
lanta, the reports of Lieutenant-General Stewart and his subordinate 
officers, herewith submitted. Maps of the campaign accompany 

this report. 

Respectfullv, your obedient servant. 

J. B. Hood, General. 

( rENERAL S. COOPER, 

Adjutant and Inspector General. Richmond, Va. 



CHAPTER XLIV 
ii \kdee's report 

Near Lovejoy's Station, September 3, 1864. 
The enemy approached my position cautiously from Jonesbor- 
ough yesterday and about sunset attacked a portion of Cleburne's 
line. The attack was easily repulsed and with considerable loss to 
the enemy. W. J. Hardee, 

Commanding General. 

His Excellency Jefferson Davis, Richmond, Va. 

Headquarters. Camp near Smithfield, N. C, April 5, 186 5. 
Hon. John C. Breckenridge, Secretary of War, Richmond: 

General: I have just concluded and will to-day forward to 
General Cooper a report of the operations of my corps about Atlanta, 
and intended merely as an answer to the misrepresentations contained 
in General Hood's report respecting myself. You will oblige me 
by authorizing its publication, which I consider due alike to the truth 
and history and to my own reputation. 

With high respect, your obedient servant. 

W. J. Hardee, 
Lieutenant-General. 

Headquarters Hardee's Corps, 
Camp near Smithfield, N. C, April 5, 186=,. 
General : The want of subordinate reports has hitherto pre- 
vented me from making an official report of the operations of my 
corps, of the Army of the Tennessee, from the opening of the cam- 
paign at Dalton to the time of my transfer from that army on the 
28th of September, 1864. Many of the general officers in that corps 
were killed, wounded or captured in the recent Tennessee cam- 
paign, without having made their reports, and this obstacle, there- 
fore, still exists ; but the official publication of General Hood's re- 
port makes it a duty to place at once on record a correction of the 
misrepresentations which he has made in that report with respect to 
myself and the corps which I commanded. It is well known that 
I felt unwilling to serve under General Hood upon his succession to 
the command of the Army of the Tennessee, because I believed 
him. though a tried and gallant officer, to be unequal in 

698 



Hardee s Report 699 

both experience and natural ability to so important a com- 
mand, and soon afterward, with the knowledge and approval 
of General Hood, 1 applied to his excellency the Presi- 
dent to be relieved from duty with that army. The President replied 
that it was my duty to remain where I was. I accepted the decision 
and gave to the commanding' general an honest and cordial support. 
That in the operations about Atlanta I failed to accomplish all that 
General Hood thinks might have been accomplished, is a matter of 
regret. That I committed errors is very possible, but that I failed 
in any instance to carry out in good faith his orders I utterly deny ; 
nor during our official connection did General Hood ever evince a 
belief that I had in any respect failed in the execution of such parts 
of his military plans as were entrusted to me. On the contrary, by 
frequent and exclusive consultation of my opinions, by the selection 
of my corps for important operations, and by assigning me on several 
occasions to the command of two-thirds of his army, he gave every 
proof of implicit confidence in me. The publication of this official 
report with its astonishing statements and insinuations was the first 
intimation of his dissatisfaction with my official conduct. Refer- 
ring to the attack of the 20th of July at Peach Tree Creek, he says : 

"Owing to the demonstrations of the enemy on the right, it be- 
came necessary to extend Cheatham a division front to the right. 
To do this Hardee and Stewart were each ordered to extend a half 
division front to close the interval. Foreseeing that some confusion 
and delay might result, I was careful to call General Hardee's atten- 
tion to the importance of having a staff officer on his left to see that 
his left did not take more than half a division front. This, unfor- 
tunately, was not attended to and the line closed to the right, causing 
Stewart to move two or three times the proper distance. In conse- 
quence of this the attack was delayed until nearly 4 p. m. At this 
hour the attack began as ordered, Stewart's corps carrying the tem- 
porary works on its front. Hardee failed to push the attack as 
ordered, and thus the enemy, remaining in possession of his works 
on Stewart's right, compelled Stewart by an enfilade fire to abandon 
the positioin he had carried. I have every reason to believe that our 
attack would have been successful had my orders been executed." 

1 was ordered, as above stated, to move half a division length to 
the right, but was directed at the same time to connect with the left 
of Cheatham's corps. The delay referred to by General Hood was 
not caused by my failure to post a staff officer to prevent my com- 
mand from moving more than half a division length to the right, for 
Major Black, of my staff, was sent to the proper point for that pur- 
pose ; but it arose from the fact that Cheatham's corps, with which I 
was to connect, was nearly two miles to my right instead of a division 
length. Had General Hood been on the field the alternative of de- 



/oo Appejidix 

laying the attack or leaving an interval between Cheatham's com- 
mand and my own could have been submitted to him for decision. He 
was in Atlanta, and in his absence the hazard of leaving an interval 
of one mile and a half in a line intended to be continuous, and at a 
point in front of which the enemy was in force and might at any time 
attack, seemed to me too great to be assumed. 1 he attack thus 
delayed was, therefore, made at 4 insetead of 1 p. m. My troops 
were formed as follows : Bate's division on the right. Walker's in 
the center, Cheatham's (commanded by Krigadier-General Maney) 
on the left, and Cleburne's in reserve. The command moved to the 
attack in echelon of division from the right. Walker's division, in 
consequence of the circular formation of the enemy's fortifications, 
encountered them first, and was repulsed and driven back. Bate, 
finding no enemy in his immediate front, was directed to find, and, if 
practicable, to turn, their flank, but his advance through an almost 
impenetrable thicket was necessarily slow. Expecting but not hear- 
ing Bate's guns, I ordered Maney and Cleburne, whose divisions had 
been substituted for Walker's beaten troops, to attack. At the mo- 
ment when the troops were advancing to the assault I received in- 
formation from General Hood that the enemy were passing and over- 
lapping the extreme right of the army, accompanied by an imperative 
order to send him a division at once. In obedience to this order I 
immediately withdrew and sent to him Cleburne's division. The 
withdrawal of a division at the moment when but two were available 
compelled me to countermand the assault, and the lateness of the 
hour, which made it impossible to get Bate in position to attack before 
dark, left no alternative but to give up the attack altogether. 

These movements and their causes were fully explained to Gen- 
eral Hood at the time, and seemingly to his entire satisfaction. No 
mention is made in General Hood's report of the fight made by Cle- 
burne on the 2 1st, which he described as the "bitterest of his life;" 
but it was the well known and often-expressed opinion of that noble 
and lamented officer that but for the withdrawal of his division, 
which prevented the assault on the 20th, and its timely arrival on the 
right, the enemy would on the morning of the 2rst have succeeded 
in gaining the inner works of Atlanta. 

On the 2 1 st of July General Hood decided to attempt on the fol- 
lowing day to turn the enemy's left flank. The original plan was 
to send my corps by a detour to Decatur to turn the enemy's posi- 
tion, but my troops had been marching, fighting, and working the 
night and day previous, had had little rest for thirty-six hours, and it 
was deemed impracticable to make so long a march in time to attack 
on the following day. This plan was therefore abandoned, and 
General Hood decided to strike the enemy in flank. General Hood 
says : 



Hardee s Report 7°' 

"Hardee failed to entirely turn die enemy's flank, as directed; 
took position and attacked his flank. 

[n proof that General Hood's instructions were obejed I hav 
onlv to Mention that when my dispatch informing him o 1> - 

tion 1 had taken and the dispositions I had ma, le f o th e ttac k as 
received he exclaimed to Brigadier-General Mackall, his cluet 01 
staff, with his finger on the map, -Hardee is just where I wanted 

him 'l will not i n this report enter into the details of the engagement 
of the 22nd of July, one of the most desperate and bk jod> « t 1 1 ie wa 
and which won the onlv deeded success achieved b> the ami) at At 

^^In the afternoon of the 28th of July, when the corps of Stew- 
art and Lee on the left, had keen badly repulsed in an attack upon 
Se SenVs right, and were attacked in turn, a serious disaster was 
anprehe led General Hood sent several couriers in quick succes- 
sfon and great haste to summon me to his headquarters, which were 
E^^cL and the then battle-field, and a mile and a ha 
nearer to it. He there directed me to proceed to the field, and. if 
neressarv to assume command of the troops engaged. 

Tf I failed of my dutv in anv respect on the 20th and 22nd of 
Tulv it s a Httle singular that on "the 28th General Hood, remaining 
at his Headquarters in Atlanta, should have sent me to take command 
on^fieldThere there was no portion of mv own ^ corps and v^er 
nparlv two-thirds of his armv were engaged. Upon m\ arrival 
£ fidd the fighting had nearlv ceased, and I found ^unnecessary 
to take command. This fight' of the 28th is mentioned by Genera 
HcSJin terms to leave an impression of its success but rt was well 
known throughout the army that so great was the loss 1 men. 01 
organization 'and morale in that engagement tha A no ac Uon of he 
campaign probably did so much to demorali ^e an ^ ^arten e 
rrooos eneaeed in it. It was necessary, in oidei to cast upon me 

able that in the following month, remaining himself u 1 Atknta 
nearlv thirtv miles from the scene of action with one corps or nis 
arm he houM have sent me in command of the other two corps to 
make an attack on Jonesborough, on which he says so much de 

Pend On the 26th of August the enemy drew in his left on the north 
front of Atlanta in pursuance of a plan to turn our — and move 
upon our railroad communications. Wheeler had cut the _ radroad 
between Atlanta and Chattanooga, and General Hood belied 



702 Appendix 

enemy retreating for want of supplies. He even ordered General 
W. H. Jackson, then commanding the cavalry of the army, to harass 
the rear of the retreating enemy. General Jackson endeavored to 
convince him of his error, but to no purpose. The days occupied 
in the movement from Atlanta to Jonesborough were neglected and 
lost. It was not until the 30th of August, in the evening of which 
day the enemy actually reached the vicinity of Jonesborough, that 
General Hood was convinced, by information sent him by myself 
from Rough and Ready, that the enemy were moving upon that 
place. He then determined to attack what he believed to be only 
two corps of the enemy at Jonesborough. The enemy had reached 
Jonesborough before the order was given to move against him. I 
was telegraphed at Rough and Ready in the evening of August 30 
to come to Atlanta, and an engine was sent for me. I arrived in 
the night. General Hood ordered me to move with Lee's corps and 
my own, commanded by Major-General Cleburne, to Jonesborough, 
attack the enemy, and drive him, if possible, across Flint River. The 
troops were in the vicinity of East Point and were put in motion at 
once. I left Atlanta by rail and reached Jonesborough by daylight, 
expecting to find Lee and Cleburne there. To my disappointment 
I learned that Cleburne, who was in advance, had encountered the 
enemy in force on the road he had been instructed to take, and had 
been compelled to open another road. This occasioned great delay. 
Cleburne got into position about 9 o'clock on the morning of the 31st, 
and Lee, who was in rear, at about 1 1 o'clock. Three brigades of 
Lee's corps, which had been left on picket, did not get up until about 
1.30 p. m. Foreseeing that the attack would not be made before 
the afternoon, and that the enemy would have time by entrenching 
himself to add strength of position to superiority of numbers, I tele- 
graphed these facts to General Hood early in the day and urged him 
to come to Jonesborough and take command. Communication with 
Atlanta by rail was still open, but he did not come. As soon as the 
lines could be adjusted 1 ordered the attack. Lee's corps was on 
the right, Cleburne's on the left. Cleburne had orders to turn the 
enemy's right flank, and Lee began the attack on our right when he 
heard Cleburne's guns. Lee, mistaking the guns of Cleburne's 
skirmishers for the main attack, began the movement before Cle- 
burne became seriously engaged. He encountered formidable 
breast-works, which he was unable to carry, and after considerable 
loss was driven back in confusion. Cleburne had carried the tem- 
porary works of the enemy, and a portion of his command had 
crossed Flint River and captured two pieces of artillery, which he 
was unable, however, to bring over the river. He was now moving 
upon the enemy's main works. I sent my chief of staff (Colonel 
Roy ) to Lieutenant-General Lee to ascertain whether his troops were 



Hardee s Report 703 

in condition to renew the attack. General Lee expressed the decided 
opinion that they were not. Immediately after this I was informed 
by another staff officer (Colonel Pickett) that the enemy were pre- 
paring to attack Lee. In view of the demoralized condition of 
Lee's troops, as reported by the same officer, 1 withdrew a division 
from Cleburne to support Lee. 

It now became necessary for me to act on the defensive, and T 
ordered Clebnrne to make no further attempt upon the enemy's 
works. It is proper to state that the enemy were strongly intrenched 
and had one flank resting on Flint River and both well protected. 
Their fortifications were erected (hiring the day and night preceding 
the attack, and were formidable. Two corps were in position, with 
a third corps in reserve. Three other corps were in supporting dis- 
tance, between Jonesborough and Rough and Ready. The Twentieth 
Corps alone, of Sherman's army, had been left in front of Atlanta. 
These facts were obtained from Captain Buel, a captured officer of 
Major-General Howard's staff. On the night of the 31st the fol- 
lowing dispatch was received in duplicate from General Hood : 

Headquarters Army of the Tennessee, 

( )ffice Chief of Staff, 
August ?/, 1864 — 6 p. 111. 
Licntcnant-Gcneral Hardee, Commanding, etc.: 

General Hood directs that you return Lee's corps to this place. 
Let it march by 2 o'clock to-morrow morning. Remain with your 
corps and the cavalry, and so dispose your force as best to protect 
Macon and communications in rear. Retain provision and ordnance 
trains. Please return Reynolds' brigade, and, if you think you can 
do so and still accomplish your object, send back a brigade or so of 
your corps also. There are some indications that the enemy may 
make an attempt upon Atlanta to-morrow. 

Yerv respectfullv, etc.. F. A. Sholt. 

Chief of Staff. 

Lee's corps proceeded to Atlanta, in obedience to this order, and 
I remained at Jonesborough with my own corps and a body of cav- 
alry under Prigadier-General Jackson. 

It will be seen from the above order that Lee's corps was not re- 
called, as General Hood states, with a view of attacking the enemy 
in flank, but to protect Atlanta from an apprehended attack by Sher- 
man's army, which General Hood, with a marvelous want of informa- 
tion, evidently still believed to be in front of Atlanta. 

( )n the morning of September 1 the situation was as follows : 
General Hood was at Atlanta with Stewart's corps and the Georgia 
militia: my corps was at Jonesborough, thirty miles distant, and 
Lee's corps on the road from Jonesborough to Atlanta, fifteen miles 



704 Appendix 

from each place, and in supporting distance of neither. The Fed- 
eral commander, on the other hand, had concentrated his whole army 
upon my corps at Jonesborough, except the one corps left in front 
of Atlanta, and was now in position to crush in detail the scattered 
corps of Ids unwary antagonist. My position at Jonesborough had 
been taken up on the failure of the attack on the day previous. It 
was not strong naturally, and there had been little time to strengthen 
it by art ; but it was absolutely necessary to hold the position through 
the day to secure the evacuation of Atlanta, which had now become a 
necessity. To add to my embarrassment, I was encumbered by the 
immense subsistence and ordnance trains of the army, which had 
been sent for safety from Atlanta to Jonesborough, and could not 
now be sent farther to the rear, because the superiority of the enemy 
in cavalry made it indispensable to their safety that they should re- 
main under the protection of the infantry. It is difficult to imagine 
a more perplexing or perilous situation ; yet it is this engagement, 
fought under such circumstances, which General Hood disposes of 
in two contemptuous sentences; an engagement in which my corps 
was attacked by six corps, commanded by General Sherman in per- 
son, and where upon my ability to hold the position through the day 
depended the very existence of the remainder of the army, for it is 
not too much to say that if the enemy had crushed my corps, or even 
driven it from its position at Jonesborough on the 1st of September, 
no organized body of the other two corps could have escaped further 
destruction. Through the splendid gallantry of the troops the posi- 
tion was held against fierce and repeated assaults of the enemy. At 
night the object of the stand (which was to secure the successful re- 
treat of the two corps in Atlanta ) having been gained. I retired about 
four miles and took up a position in front of Lovejoy's station, 
which was maintained against the renewal of the attack on the fol- 
lowing day, and until the remainder of the army formed a junction 
with my corps and Sherman withdrew to Atlanta. 

General Hood sums up the loss of the entire army from the date 
of his assuming command, on the 1 8th of July, to the Jonesborough 
fight, inclusive, at 5,427. The casualties in my corps alone during 
that time considerably exceeded 7.000 in killed, wounded and cap- 
tured. 

( ieneral Hood says : 

"Hie vigor of the attack (on the 31st of August) may be in 
some sort imagined when only 1,400 were killed and wounded out of 
the two corps engaged." 

This attack was made principally by Lee's corps, and the loss 
was chiefly in that corps. It is true that the attack could scarcely 
be called a vigorous one, nor is it surprising that troops who had for 
two months been hurled against breastworks only to be repulsed or 



Haider's Report 705 

to gain dear-bought and fruitless victories, should now have moved 
against the enemy's works with reluctance and distrust. But dis- 
positions were made to renew the attack with both corps, which 
would probably have resulted bloodily enough to have satisfied even 
the sanguinary expectations of the commanding general hut for de- 
velopment of the enemy's movements and forces, which made it 
necessary for me to assume the defensive. 1 now consider this a for- 
tunate circumstance, for success against such odds could at best have 
only been partial and bloody, while defeat would have been almost 
inevitable destruction of the army. 

Idle fall of Atlanta does not date from the result of the battle 
of Jonesborough. but of < ieneral Hood's misconceptions of his adver- 
sary's plans. 

After the 30th of August General Hood's whole plan of opera- 
tions was based on the hypothesis that Sherman was moving only a 
detachment to Jonesborough, whereas in reality he was moving his 
army. He divided his forces to attack a concentrated enemy. He 
in effect sent a detachment of his army to attack an enemy who was 
superior in numbers to his whole arm}'. 

Had it been possible with two corps to dislodge three corps of 
the enemy from a chosen position on the 31st, I should still to have 
met three fresh corps on the following morning with my own corps 
alone, for be it remembered that Lee's corps was withdrawn by Gen- 
eral Hood before he knew the result of the fight on the 31st. 

The fate of Atlanta was sealed from the moment when General 
Hood allowed an enemy superior in numbers to pass unmolested 
around his flank and plant himself firmly upon his only line of rail- 
road. If, after the enemy reached Jonesborough, General Hood 
had attacked him with his whole army instead of with a part of it, 
he could not reasonably have expected to drive from that position an 
armv before which his own had been for four months retiring in the 
open held. 

I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, your obedient 
servant. W. J. Hardee, 

Lieutenant-General. 
General S. Cooper, Adjt. and Insp. Gen., Richmond, Va. 



45-1 



CHAPTER XLV 

smith's report 

Report of Major-General Gustavus IV. Smith, C. S. Army, com- 
manding Georgia Militia, of Operations June I- 

Scptember 15, 1864. 
Headquarters First Division, Georgia Militia, 

Macon, Ga., Sept. 15, 1864. 
( irENERAL : I have the honor to make the following report of the 
part taken by the Georgia Militia under my command during the 
operations at and near Atlanta : 

My appointment was dated the 1st of June. I took command a 
few days thereafter, relieving Major-General Wayne, who returned 
to the duties of his office as adjutant and inspector-general of the 
State. The force then in the field was composed entirely of State 
officers, civil and military. They had been formed into two brigades 
of three regiments each and one battalion of artillery, numbering in 
all a little over 3,000 men. The officers of the militia not needed 
for these regiments took their places in the ranks as privates with the 
civil officers. The command had reported to General J. E. Johnston 
for duty, and had been ordered to guard the crossings of the Chatta- 
hoochee River from Roswell bridge to West Point, which duty they 
continued to perform until ordered by General Johnston to cross the 
Chattahoochee and support the cavalry upon the left wing of his 
army, the right wing then being at Kenesaw Mountain. 

In the execution of this order the militia were twice brought in 
conflict with largely superior forces of the enemy's infantry. They 
behaved well— thoroughly executed the part assigned them, and when 
the army fell back to the Chattahoochee they were the last infantry 
withdrawn to the fortified position. General Johnston in a letter to 
1 iovernor Brown paid a handsome, and, I think, well-deserved com- 
pliment to them for their conduct beyond the river and their services 
in beating back the enemy in their attempts upon the various cross- 
ings. 

The day we reached the Chattahoochee we were assigned to your 
corps of the army. You soon placed us in reserve, which it was 

706 



Smith's Report joy 

thought would give some opportunity for drilling and disciplining 
the command, no opportunity for this having previously occurred. 

In the meantime the reserve militia of Georgia were ordered out 
by Governor Brown, and I was ordered to Poplar Springs, near the 
Atlanta and West Point Railroad, for the purpose of reorganizing, 
arming the reserves, etc. We had not been there three days before 
you found it necessary to order us into the trenches on the east side of 
Atlanta. You had in the meanwhile been assigned to the command 
of the army and instructed me to report to you direct, instead of 
through a corps commander. There were at this time about 2,000 
effective muskets in the command. We guarded over two miles of 
lines, having on them, however, some eighty pieces of Confederate 
artillery. 

On the 22nd of July, while Hardee was attacking the enemy on 
< fur extreme right in the direction of Decatur, you ordered the troops 
on my left to advance. Without waiting for orders I closed the in- 
tervals in my line, formed line of battle in the trenches, and moved 
the militia forward over the parapet more than a mile against the 
enemy's strong works in our front. They were directed upon a bat- 
tery which had annoyed us very much. Captain Anderson, who had 
served with my command beyond the Chattahoochee, volunteered to 
move his battery with us. He took position in clear, open ground 
within about 400 yards of the embrasure battery of the enemy, sup- 
ported by the militia upon his right and left. Within ten minutes 
the effective fire of the enemy was silenced in our front, and after 
this they only occasionally ventured to show themselves at the em- 
brasures or put their heads above the parapet. My troops were 
eager to be allowed to charge the battery, but the brigade upon my 
left had given way, and though falling back, was extending still far- 
to the left. Hardee's fire, on my right, had ceased just after we 
moved out of the trenches. I considered it useless to make an iso- 
lated attack, and therefore held the position, awaiting further de- 
velopments. In about two hours I received orders from you direct- 
ing me to withdraw to the trenches. We lost only about 50 men 
killed and wounded. 

The officers and men behaved admirably. Every movement 
was promptly and accurately made. There was not a single strag- 
gler. 

A few days after this affair of the 22nd of July I was ordered 
again to Poplar Springs, but was scarcely established in camp there 
before we had again to be placed in the trenches on the left of the 
Marietta road, and from this time until the end of the siege continued 
under close fire night and day. We had to move from one portion of 
the lines to another, and had our full share of all the hardest places, 
extending from the left of the Marietta road across the Peach Tree 
road to our extreme rigfht. 



708 Appendix 

The militia, although but poorly armed — very few having proper 
equipments, more than two-thirds of them without cartridge-boxes — 
almost without ambulances or other transportation, most of the re- 
serves never having been drilled at all, and the others but a few days 
— all performed well every service required during an arduous and 
dangerous campaign. They have been in service about ioo days, 
during the last fifty of which they have been under close fire of the 
enemy mostly night and day. They have always shown a willing 
spirit, whether in camp, on the march, working at fortifications, 
guarding trenches, or upon the open battle-field. They have done 
good and substantial service in the cause of their country, and have 
established the fact that Georgia is willing and able to do something 
effective in her own name beyond furnishing more than her quota 
to the Confederate armies proper. The greatest number of effective 
muskets in the trenches at any one time was about 5,000. 

When Atlanta was evacuated the reserve artillery of the army 
passed out through my lines, and my men were formed as a rear 
guard. The whole was safely brought to Griffin under your orders. 

The march from Atlanta to Griffin satisfied me that men over 
fifty are not as a class fitted for military duty. I have therefore 
strongly advised the Governor to withdraw them from continuous 
active service. There being a lull in active operations the Governor 
has, with my recommendation and your concurrence, temporarily 
withdrawn the militia from Confederate service and furloughed them 
for thirty clays. This report is hastily written without access to the 
detailed records and papers of my adjutant -general's office but all 
omissions can be readily supplied by the returns, etc., already for- 
warded to your office. 

Before closing I cannot refrain from alluding to a subject which, 
under ordinary circumstances, forms no part of reports of subordi- 
nates to their commanders. I allude to the outcry from the press 
and the people against yourself because of the evacuation of Atlanta. 

Unsolicited by me, without my consent or knowledge, the civil 
and military officers of the State of Georgia, when called upon to 
take up arms in defense of their homes, almost unanimously elected 
me their leader, and as their leader I wish in this report to say to you 
and place officially on record this opinion, viz. : Had your orders been 
properly executed either upon the 20th of July at Peach Tree Creek, 
the 22d of July on our right, or on the 30th of August at Jonesbor- 
ough, Sherman would have been foiled and Atlanta saved, at least 
for some time to come, and I am not alone in this opinion. Com- 
manding a peculiar organization, the ranking officer in the forces of 
the State within which you were operating, T was invited to and par- 
ticipated in your councils. I had every opportunity of knowing what 
was going on. Your plans were fully explained to your lieutenant- 



Smith's Report 709 

generals, your chief of artillery, chic! engineer and myself. Opin- 
ions and views were called for and then specific orders given. I 
have never known one of them to express dissent to any executed, 
never a doubt expressed as to the meaning of your orders, nor a sug- 
gestion made by them of a plan then- supposed would he better than 
that you ordered. If they are not now unanimous, there is but one. 
if any, who dissents from the opinion expressed above, viz. : Sherman 
would have been beaten had your orders been obeyed on the 20th and 
22nd of Jul\-, or 30th of August. Whatever the press or the people 
may say, the militia of Georgia are more than satisfied with you as 
their Confederate general, and when they again enter that service in 
defense of their homes will be glad to hail you as their Confederate 
chief. G. \V. Smith, 

Major-General. 
General J. B. Hood, 

Comdg. Army of Tennessee, near Love joy's Station. 



Index 



Adair, George W., 80 

W. R, 27 
Alexander, J. F., Dr., 42, 162 
Allatoona, defense of, by Gen. Corse, 

629 
Anderson, G. W., 162 
Andrews's railroad raid, narrative 

of, 177-201 
Angier, N. L., Dr., 42, 71, 79 
Appendix. 643-709 
Armies, status of the, after the fall 

of Atlanta, 629-631 

the, at the beginning of the cam- 
paign of 1864, 202, 203 
Arms, Fred, 27 
Atlanta, a deserter's report of the 

condition of, during the siege, 518- 

5 22 

accident at pole-raising in, 128 
act incorporating the city of. 67 
after the Federal evacuation, 

636-641 
Alexander H. Stephens in, in 

March, 1861, 168 
"Amateurs, The," relief asso- 
ciation, 172 
and West Point Railroad, com- 
pletion of, 108 
arrival of the Macon and West- 
ern Railroad at, 40 
at the opening of the war, 164 
battles and movements around, 
after Peachtree Creek fight, 
388-390 
board of health, 1853, no 
bonded debt of, in 1859, 143 
called into being by embryo 

railroads, 20 
Capt. Scott's report of the sur- 
render of. 598-600 
capture and recapture of De 
Gress's battery at the battle 
of, 412-415 



Atlanta, celebration at. on the com- 
pletion of the State road, 25, 26 

celebration of Washington's 
birthday in 1861 in, 167 

city government of, 1849-50, 94 

election of 1850 in, 88; of 1852, 
106: of 1853, 109: of 1854, 116; 
of 1X55. 122-124; of 1856, 127; 
of 1857. 135; of 1858, 139; of 
[859, 143; of 1861, 164 

committee appointed to surren- 
der, 595 

completion of the Georgia Rail- 
road to, 2,2 

condition of, after Sherman's 
departure, as stated by E. Y. 
Clarke. 635, 636 

conscription and a strike of 
printers in, 514 

council, early proceedings of, 70, 

7i 
council proceedings, 1849-50, 94, 

99; 1850, 104. 105; 1853, no, 

m; 1859. I43-U5 
crushing of outlawry in, 1850, 

89. 93 
destruction of. by Sherman, 632- 
636 

detailed account of the effects 
of Sherman's bombardment 
of, 499-506 

early prominent business men of, 

34 

election of the first officers of, 
68, 69 

environments of the site of, be- 
fore its birth. 2 

establishment of the city govern- 
ment. 69. 70 

evacuation of, by Gen. Hood, 
591-594 

fall of, 591-610 



I udcx 



711 



Atlanta, fire companies in 1859, 152 
fire department, organization of, 

1850, 100-103 
fire limits established in, 137 
first birth in, 25 
first board of health of, 71 
first church and school building 

in, 33 
first fire in, 100 
first frame building in, 25 
first male child Ik urn in, 34 
first newspaper in, 33 
first settler of, 19 
first Sunday school of, 43 
Gen. Govan's report of his work 

at the battle of, 417, 418 
Gen. Howard's account of the 

battle of, 400-403 
Gen. Leggett's defense of Bald 

Hill at the battle of, 415, 416 
Gen. Logan's story of the battle 

of, 406-412 
Gen. Sherman's movement to 

the west of, 422-435 
Gen. Sherman's report to Wash- 
ington of battle of, 420-421 
Gen. Slocum's message upon his 

occupation of, 602, 603 
Gen. W. P. Howard's report of 

the condition of, after the 

Federal evacuation, 632-635 
genesis of, compared with that 

of other Southern cities, 1 
genesis of the name of, 38 
Grays, election of officers of, in 

January, 1861, 165 
growth and progress of, 1849-50, 

88, 89 
growth of, in 1854, 114-121 
Hood's story of the battle of, 

394-399 
Hotel, the, 45 
improvements in, in 1856, 128; 

in 1858, 141-142 
in 1842, 27; in 1849 and 1850, 88- 

99; in 1859, as described in 

first city directory, 146-151 
inside of the city of, during 

Sherman's investiture of, 507- 

527. 
Intelligencer, The, birth of, 89 
Jefferson Davis in, 167 
made a military post in 1862, 173 
medical college, 118, 127 
minor accounts of the battle of, 

403-406 



Atlanta, new undertakings in, in 
1848. 74 
occupation of, by the Federals, 

603-605, 611-617 
orders and references relative to 
the bombardment of, 493-498 
ordinance creating police force 

in, 110 
placed under martial law, 173- 

population of, in 1850, i_>,X 

prosecution of the rowdy ele- 
ment in, 70 

relinquishment of a portion of 
Pryor street to railroad com- 
panies by, 105 

removal of all civilians from, by 
Sherman, 618-628 

report of Col. Coburn upon the 
surrender of, 600-602 

reports and messages of Con- 
federate commanders after the 
surrender of, 606-608 

reports of the condition of, dur- 
ing the siege, by one of Sher- 
man's scouts, 522-526 

results of the battle of, 419 

"Rifles," organization of the, 172 

second settler on the site of, 23 

shelling of, by Sherman, 491-506 

Sherman's investment of, 357- 
370 

Sherman's orders after occupy- 
ing, 608-610 

Sherman's statement of the re- 
sults of the battle of, 424, 425 

site of. selected as a railroad ter- 
minal and junction point, 20, 
21 

statement of a citizen of, regard- 
ing the condition of the city 
during the siege, 523, 524 

statistics of. in 1859, 152. 153 

street lighting in, rn, 117, 119, 
125, 126, 135-13/ 

substantial citizens of, in 1850. 
103, 104 

surrender of, 594-603 

survey of the corporate limits, 

7° 
(Terminus), the only residents 

of, in 1839, 23 

the battle of, 33-421 

the naming of, 66 

visit of President Fillmore to, 
121 



12 



Index 



Atlanta, vital statistics of, 1853, 111 
when it was Marthasville, 29-39 
wretched condition of streets of, 
in [852, 107, 10S 

Bailey John, 30 
Baker Joseph, Rev., 30, 42, 8y 
Baldwin, W. W., 101, 102, 116, 122 
Ballard, James M., 43 

R. W., 43 
Banks, 152 

and hanking agencies, 104 
Baptist church, First, 40 
Barnes, William, 101, 122, [56, 162 
Bell, W. T., 43 
Berkele, John, 103 
Biggers, S. T., 94 
Bleckley, Logan E., 25, 43, 161 
Bomar, Benjamin F., 42, 43, 69, 89, 

94 
Boring, James, 71 

Boudinot, Rlias, Cherokee leader, 2 
Boyd, Hugh M., 43, 94, 95 
Brown, Joseph E., 7^ 
Browne, R. J., 44 

R. M.. 43 
Buell, W., 43, 71, 94 
Bullard, Robert W., 42, 69 
Burns, J. T., 43 
Butt, William M., 109, 1 16 

Cain, R., 71 

Calhoun, James M., 118 

John C, allusion to Atlanta in 
address by, 72, 
Capital, removal of, to Atlanta 
Carlisle, Willis, 25, 30, 32 
Cemetery, measures to establish, 95, 

96, 98 
Chandler, C. H., 162 
Chapman, W. B., 43 
Chattahoochee, from Kennesaw 

Mountain to the, 336-356 
Cherokee country, lawless element 
attracted to the, by the existence 
of gold therein, 13, 14 

problem, importance of the, to 
the State of Georgia, 8 
Cherokees, efforts of the State to 
force the, from their lands, 3-6 
final eviction of the, 6 
sufferings of the, during their 

hegira, 7 
the, characteristics of, 2 
Church building, the first school and, 
33 



Churches, 46, J04, 109, 151 

City directory, the first, 143 

City hall, measures to erect a, 106 

plan for raising funds to erect 
the. 1 10 
City limits, extension of. 1 1 — 
Clapp. Joseph 1!.. 71 
Clarke, E. Y., Col., _>g, 40, 108, 1O4 

John .\1.. 38 

Lewis H.. 35. 40 

Robert M., 43. 70 

Thomas M., 120 
Cleburne's, General, account of his 
part in the Xew Hope Church hat- 
ties, 278-283 
Collier, Edwin (',., 08, 69 

George, 79 

John, 42, 71, 70, 118 

Wash, 27, 3$ 
Collins, James, 38 

James A.. 32. 42, 43, 69, 71 

& Loyd, 34 
Companies and regiments, formation 

of, in 1861, 171 
Cone, Reuben, 42. 80 
"Confederate Continentals." organ- 
ization of the, 171 

field orders after the evacuation 
of Resaca, 250 

"Guards," organization of the, 

'■Volunteers." organization of 
the, 170 
Conscription, activity in, 175 
Cook, George \V., 43 
Cooper, Thomas L., 161, 102 
Covington, Garrard's raid to. 423 
Cowart, R. 1., 118 
Crawford, J. R., 44 

Robert, 104 

William, 33 
Crew, James F., 164 
Crusselle. Thomas G., 35, 42, 40, 51, 

54. 55 
Currier, H. L., 1 10 

"Cussing out," 81 

Dalton, evacuation of, 215-225 

operations around, 206-214 
Daniel, David G., Rev., 42, 43, 82 
Darnall, T. M., 122 
"Davis Infantry," organization of, 

167 
Decatur ami Atlanta, McPherson's 

battle between, ^77 
Diehl, George, 103 



Index 



7'3 



Demby, J. \\\, 43 

I )oane, John A., 42, 43 

Dodd, Green T., 120 

Doonan, Terence, 42, 79 

Dougherty, David, 27, 38 

Douglas, Stephen A... at Atlanta, 

157, 158 
Downs, S. 1\, 43 

East Point, operations near, 528-536 

Eddleman, A. M., 155 

Editorial, specimen, in January, 1861, 

165 

Ellsworth, J. II., 103 
Emmel, Jacob and Mike, 103 
Erskine, William, 103 
Evans, J. W., 43 
Ezra Church, battle of, 436-453 

Col. O'Neal's report of Cantey's 

brigade at, 447, 448 
Gen. Clayton's report of the 
work of his division at, 444, 

445 
Gen. Harrow's report on (he 

fight at, 440, 441 
Gen. Howard's story of the 

operations at, 436, 437 
Gen. John C. Brown's report of 

his division at, 443, \ \ ,\ 
Gen. Lee's account of the battle 

at, 442, 443 
Gen. Logan's report on the battle 

of, 438-440 
Gen. Manigault's report of his 

work at, 449, 451 
Gen. Reynolds's report of his 

work at, 448, 449 
Gen. Walthall's report of battle 

at, 446, 447 
Gen. Wood's account of his 

work at the battle of, 440 
operations of Sherman's army 

following the battle of 454-456 
Ezzard, William, 135 

Farrar, John, 116, 122 
Federal movements in pursuit of 
Johnston from Resaca to the Eto- 
wah, 251-264 
Fernerden, W. H., Dr., 42, 43 
Financial panic of 1857 and its re- 
sults. 133-135 
Fire wells and cisterns, 105 
Formwalt, .Moses, 42, 48, 68, 78 
Forsyth, Ambrose ?>.. },2, 34, 38, 43, 
7h 94 



Forsyth, William G., 42 
bowler, N. R., [62 
Frankford, S., 101 
Fraser, H. A., 43 
Frazer, G R., 101 
fuller. W. A., 120 
Fulton county and Atlanta, presi- 
dential vote of, in tXdo, 101 

county, erection of, 119 

"True Blues," organization of 
the. 172 

Gannon, L. V., 30 

Gardner. Reuben, 101 

Gartrell, L. J., Gen., 118, 120, 161 

Gate City Guards, departure of, tor 

duty in April, 1861, 168 
organization of, 137 
Geary's, General, account of his 

operations in the Resaca campaign, 

241-244 
Georgia Air Line Railroad, 135, 140, 

Mi 

"Railroad Guards," organization 

of the, 175 
"Volunteers," organization of, 
January, 1861, 165 
Gibbs, I. F., 106 
Gilbert, Joshua, Dr., 71, 79 

William, 162 
Gilmer, Governor, 7, 9 
Glenn, Luther J., 120, 139, 143, 161, 

162 
Goodall, Solomon, 43, 71 
Grant, L. P., Col., 38, 42, 51, 118 
Gray, Francis M., 68, 69 

1 lack & Bryant, 35 
Hamilton, John L., Dr., 156 
Hammond, Amos W., 161 
Haney, Henry, 103 

"Uncle Tom," 103 
Hauleiter, C. R., Col.. 4-'. 43, 82, S3 
Hardeman, Felix, 164 
Harp, W. A.. 43 
Harris, John L., 71, 94, 95 
Hayden, Julius A., 42, 71, 80, 94. 104, 

109, 118 
Haygood, F. M., Rev., 38 

Green B., 116, 118, 161 
Haley, Thomas G., 42 
Heinz, Charles, 103 

Charles, jr., 103 

John M., 103 
Herring, William, 42. 71, 156 
Hight, F. F., 43 



7M 



Index 



Hodge, Patterson M., 94, 68, 69 

Holcomb, Elias, 162 

Holcombe, Henry C, 41, 43, 71, 94, 

109, 116 
Holland Edward. 42 

E. W., 115 
Hood, Gen., assumption of command 
by, 363 

report of, of cavalry operations 
following the battle of Ezra 
Church, 456-458 
report of, on the operations 
around Jonesboro, 564-566 
Hospitals, 173 
Hotels. 45 
House, F. C, 164 

Paschal, 104, 109, 116 
Houston, A. L., 43 

Oswald. 4?. 69, 04, 05, 101, 104, 

Il6 
Washington J.. 43, 74 
Howard. General, description of the 
battle at New Hope Church bv. 
283-285 

Thomas C, 161 
Hoyt, S. B., 42, 156 
Hulsey, Eli, 42 
Humphries. John T., 94. 104 
Hunnicutt, Calvin, 81 
C. W., 101 
E. T., 71, 116, 162 
Hunt, John J., Rev., 104 

Immell. J. P., 101 

Immigrants, two noteworthy classes 

of, 18 
"Independent State Road Guards," 

organization of the, 176 
Ivey, M. J., 44 

Ivy, Hardy, the pioneer, 19, 21, 23, 34 
Socrates, first male child born in 
Atlanta, 34 

Johnson, Allen E., 42, 43, 53, 115 
Jacob, 42 

& hrasher, first merchants in At- 
lanta, 23 
Johnston and Hood, estimate of, 
364-367 

General, conflict of opinion be- 
tween War Office and, 203, 
204 
Gen., removal of, from com- 
mand, 360-363 
Johnston's and Davis's dispatches 
relative to the movement to the 
Chattahoochee, 343. 344 



Johnston's crossing of the Chatta- 
hoochee, 349-352 

movement to the Etowah, 251- 
264 
Jones, Adam N., 104 
B. O., 122 
John, 104 
S. W.. 162 
Jonesboro, battle of, 568-590 

Gen. Baird's statement of his 
part in the attack upon, 579- 

Gen. Carlin s story of his work 
at, 577-579 

Gen. Govan and most of his 
brigade captured at, 587 

Gen. Hardee's withdrawal from, 
589, 590 

Gen. Howard's account of the 
battle of, 569-572 

Gen. Jeff. Davis's report of the 
work of his corps at, 575-577 

Gen. Lee's report of the opera- 
tions of his corps at, 582, 583 

Gen. Logan's report of the bat- 
tle of, 5/2-574 

Gen. Osterhaus's report of the 
work of his command at the 
battle of, 574, 575 

report of Gen. Anderson on the 
battle of, 583-585 

report of Gen. Gibson on the 
work of his brigade at, 585, 

587 
report on the work of Holtz- 
claw's brigade at, 588, 589 

"Kansas Question," agitation and 

effects of, 129-132 
Kelsey, Joel, 94 

Kennesaw Mountain, Gen. Feather- 
ston's report on, 331-333 

Gen. Johnston's review of the 

operations at, 336-338 
Gen. Morgan L. Smith's report 
of his division's work at, 32s, 
326 
inch by inch struggle from New 

Hope Church to, 294-313 
J. M. Brown's account of the 

battle of, 321-325 
operations at, 3!4"335 
report of Gen. Cockrell on, 328, 

329 
report of Gen. Walcutt 011 his 
operations at, 327 



Index 



715 



Kennesaw Mountain, report of Gen. 
Walthall on, 329, 330 

to the Chattahoochee, from, 336- 
356 

from, 336-356 
Kershaw, John, 101 
Kicklighter, F., 43 
Kile, John, sr., 30 

Thomas, 38, 42, 122, 164 
William, 38 
Kilpat rick's raid against Jonesboro, 

544-550 
King, John P., 62, 108 
Klassett, Charles, 103 
Knights of the Golden Circle, 156, 

157 
Kuhrt, Henry, sr., 103 

Lamb, B. T., 101 

Land conditions in Georgia at the 

time of the Cherokee exodus, 11 
Lanier, T. B., 118 

Lawless characters attracted to the 
Cherokee country by the gold 
mines, 13, 14 
Lawshe, Er, 42, 103 

Lewis, Rev., 44, 83 
Lester, German M., 69, 94, 95 
"Lewis and Phillips Rifles," organ- 
ization of the, 171 
J. T., 162 
Linn. J. H., 83 
Linthicum, J. C. 43 
Locomotive, an overland journey of 

a, 26 
Logan, Joseph P., 120, 162 
Logan's, General, report of the as- 
sault on his corps at New Hope 
Church, 286, 287 

report of his engagement at Re- 
saca, 235-238 
Long, Stephen H., engineer, 20-22 
Lovejoy, J. H., 162 
Loyd James, 32, 42, 45, 71, j6 
Luckie, Alexander, 82 
A. R, 43 
T. S., 43 
Luminrry, The. the first newspaper, 33 
Lumpkin, Governor, 29 
Lynch, James, 164 
Patrick, 42 
Peter, 103 
the five brothers, 103 

McBride, A. J., 120 
McConnell, William, 104 



McDaniel, I. O., 42, 48, 53. 70. Sr,. 94, 
106, 109, 118 
P. C, 48 
McDaniels, the. 38 
McGinty, J. T., 109 
McNaught, William, 156 
McPherson, Gen., death of, 401, 403 

James, 43 
McSheffrey. D., 104 
Macon and Western Railroad, effects 
of the completion of, upon Mar- 
thasville, 40, 42 

road, Sherman's operations to 
secure the, 474-490 
Malone, J. S., 101 

T. J., ior 
Mangum, R. E., 107 
Markham, William. 111, 118 
Marthasville. active business men of, 
1845-47, 42 
completion of the Georgia Rail- 
road to, 32 
completion of the Macon and 

Western Railroad to, 40 
conditions at, at opening of 

Georgia Railroad, 35 
description of. in 1845, 36-39 
description of, about 1847, by W. 

P. Reed. 44 
enterprising citizens of, 34 
extracts from the incorporating 

act of, 30 
first church and school building 

i". 33 
first lawyer in, 43 
first newspaper in, 33 
first Sunday school of, 43 
increase in population of, after 

advent of Georgia Railroad, 40 
Masonry in, 46 
newspapers of. in 1845-47, 43 
notes of business enterprises in, 

48, 49 
personal recollections of, related 

by Dr. George G. Smith. 56-65 
personal reminiscences of, 49-51 
post-office and postmaster, 48 
primitive calaboose. 47 
reminiscences of, 53-65 
the Beckman-Mitchell-Johnson 

land imbroglio, 52-56 
vicious and criminal element in, 

46-48 
weakness of the government of, 

30 
Matheson, II., 43 



y\6 



Index 



May, Benjamin, 162 
P. L.J., 156 

Mayer, David, 51 

Meade, Joseph, 42 

Mecaslin, John IT., Major, 103, 164 

"Mechanics Rides," organization of 
the, 172 

Medical infirmary, 119 

Minis. John I\. 71, 109. 11S 

Minute Men Association, organiza- 
tion of, 158-Kn 

Mitchell, A. W.. 42, 53 
H. M„ 101 
Samuel, 56 

Mountaineers, home life and char- 
acteristics of the, 16, 17 

Muhlinbrink, H., 101, 103 

Mullin, James A.. 117 

Municipal history, events of, 122-132 

Nelson, Allison, 118, 122 

Mayor, resignation of, 126 

New Hope Church, bloody campaign 
of, 265 

conflicting testimony regarding 
the fighting and forces at, 274 
to Kennesaw Mountain, from, 

-'94-313 
Newspaper, the first, 33 
Newspapers in [845-47, 43 
Norcross, Jonathan, 34, 38, 42, 43, j6, 
78, 89, 94, 107. 109, ris, 120 

Oliver, J. S„ 116 

"Ordnance Guards," organization of 

the, 175 
Orme, F. C, 35, 66 

William P., 41, 10S 
Orr, A. M„ 162 
Oslin, Mrs., 35 
.Overby. B. H„ 118 

Pace, Lewis J., 1 14 

Palmer, Gen., resignation of, 482 

Parham, Louis L., 28 

Parr, L. J., 101 

Payne, Edwin, 42, 43, 48, 116 

"Uncle Neddy," 80 
Peachtree Creek, details of the bat- 
tle of, 371-39-2 

Gen. A. P. Stewart's report on 

the fight at, 379, 380 
Gen. Featherston's part in the 

battle of, 382-384 
Gen. Geary's account of Hood's 
attack at, 373. 374 



Peachtree Creek, Gen. Hood's story 
of. 374-377 

Gen. Howard's account of 

Hood's attack at, 373 
Gen. Loring's account of his en- 
gagement at. 3X0-382 
Gen. Newton's account of the 

assault at, 3S5. 386 
Sherman's brief dispatch of the 

battle at, 391 
Cen. Walthall's report of the 

battle of. 384, 385 
Gen. Ward's story of Stewart's 
assault at. 386, 387 
Peck. J. P... 11O, [56 

Willis F., 116 
Perryman, G. M. Troup, 43 
Peters, Richard, 42. 49, 66, 79, 109, 

US 

Pilgrim, G. A., Il6 

Pioneer citizens, recollections of, by 
Rev. George G Smith, 76-83 
residents. Col. Hauleiter's list 
of, 112, 113 

Piltman, Daniel, 120 

Planter element, the, and the moun- 
taineers compared, 17 

Police, 117 

Political campaign of 1848, 74 

Powell, Chapman. Dr., 83, 122 

Printup, William, 43 

Proposed to boycott Northern 
wholesale merchants, 154 

Pulliam, A. C, 101 

Quinn, Patrick. 30 

Rev. Father, 104 
Railroad building, effects of the 
opening of the Cherokee lands 
upon, 15 

building, opposition to, 22 
celebrating the second, 32 
enterprises the germ of Atlanta's 

birth, 19, 20 
opening of the first, into Atlanta, 

25, 26 
plans and conventions in 1836, 

20 
structure, a historic, 25 
Railroads, effect of, upon small 

towns and the wagon traffic, 22 
Reed, Wallace Putnam, 44, 49, 83, 

133. 1/6 
Regiment, volunteer, organized in 
Atlanta, 171 



Judex 



7*7 



Religious services in early times, 82 
Rcsaca, battles around and evacua- 
tion of, 226-247 
Resolutions relative to discrimina- 
tion in railroad freight rates, 155, 

156 
Reynolds, J. F., 101 
Rhodes, C. G, 10 1 

J. R-, 162 

J. V. W„ 43 
Rice. Z. A.. 42. 43. 89 
Ridge, John. Cherokee leader, 5 
Roark, B. W., 94 

W. R.. 104 
Robson, S. B., 156, 164 
Rogers, Gresham C, 82 
Root. Sidney. 156, 161, 162 
Ross, John, Cherokee leader, 2, 4, 5 
Royal & Yarborough, 43 
Ruggles. W. B.. 116 
Rusk, Thomas, 43 

••Sale Guards." the. 171 

School building, the first church 

and. 33 
Scott, Isaac, 74 
Seago, A. K., 42, 156 

E. M., 156 
Secession convention, delegates to 
the, 164 

demonstrations and resolutions 

in i860, 162, 163 
of Virginia, reception of news 
of, I/O 
Secret societies, early, 83 
Settlers of Northwest Georgia and 

their antecedents, n-13 
Shaw, George, Major, 42, 83 
Sherman's crossing of the Chatta- 
hoochee, 353-355 

field orders after capture of Re- 

saca, 249 
flank movement to the Macon 

road. 55 1 -567 
investment of Atlanta, 357-37° 
operations to secure the Macon 

road, 474-490 
opposition to negro enlistments, 

plan of campaign from King- 
gold, 205 
Shivers, Thomas I., 69 
Sickles's, General, message on the 

Resaca battles, 248 
"Silver Grays," organization of the, 
170 



Silvey, lolm. 4-'. i°3 

Simpson, L. C, 4-', 69, 89, 90, 107, 

10<), [III. I-'-' 

Sloan 1) N., Col., reminiscences of, 

84 S 7 
Smith. B. M„ [62 

George G„ Dr., 34. 38; personal 
recollections of, relating to 
Marthasville, 56-65; recollec- 
tions of pioneer citizens by, 
76-83. no 
Jonas, 42 
Jonas J., 43- 94 
Jonas S., 69, 71 
Painter, 35; anecdote of, 80 
S. S.. Dr.. 71 
South Central Agricultural Associa- 
tion, 125 
Southern Agricultural Association 

and the city council, 96-98 
Spafford, W. B., 118 
Springs, mineral and other, 75 
Spullock, J. M„ 118 
State and Federal entanglement over 
the gold mines of the Cherokee 
country, 1 

rights, as exemplified in the 
Cherokee expulsion, 9 
"Stephens Rifles," organization of 

the, 170 
Stoneman's disastrous Macon raid, 

424, 464-473 
Street names, 82 
Strong, C. H„ 122 
Sunday school, the first. 43 
Swift, J. K, 116 

Terminus, arrival of the railroad 
builders in, 25 

as a business point, after the 
opening of the railroad to 
Marietta, 26 
becomes Marthasville, 29 
completion of the State road be- 
tween Marietta and, 25. 26 
first child born in, 25 
futile attempt to create a specu- 
lative interest in, 27 
names of first streets in, 27 
need of an eastern outlet for, 27 
school and church facilities of, 

28 
the name given to the new set- 
tlement, 2T, 
Terry, Stephen, 32, 34, 70. 81, 106 
Thomasson, George W.. 43 



7 i8 



Index 



Tomlinson, George, 43 
Thompson. Joseph, Dr., 35, 38, 42, 43, 
76 

J. Edgar, 38, 66 

J. W.. 122 

Mary J., 43 

M. A., 43 
'1 hurman, David, 43 
Thrasher, John, 23, 34, 3S, 79 
Trout, I. F., 116 

Ulare, A. G., 118 

Venable, W. R., 43 

Volunteer Relief Association, 173 

Wagon trade, the, 16 
Walker, Frank, 162 

Samuel, 80 
Wallace, John R., 42, 43, 156 
Walthall's, General, account of his 

engagement at Resaca, 232-234 
Walton, Anderson W., 42, 43, 69 
Washington Hall, 45 
Water works, 118 
Weaver, John, 42 

John K., 103 
Wells, J.. 43 

Samuel, 43 



Wesley Chapel, 4') 
Westmoreland, W. F., 162 
Whaley, C. A., 101, 164 
Wheat, A. W., 43 

Wheeler Gen.., report of, relative to 
his success against Stoneman, 458- 
463 
Wheeler's raid to Sherman's rear, 

53.6-543 
Whitaker, Jared L, 116, 161, 164 

"Volunteers," organization of 
the, 172 
White, A. R, 164 
Williams, F., 162 

James E., 116, 162 
W. M., 156 
Williford, Benjamin N., 104, 109, 

116, 162 
Wilson, John S., Rev., 34, 82, 100 

W. H., 43 
Wingfield, W. L., 44 
Winship, Joseph, 109, 116 
Wooding, A., 44 
Wright, U. L., 74 
W. L., 43, 7 8 

Yarborough, C. H.. 44 
Young, D., Dr.,^ 155 
Young Men's Christian Association, 
organization of, 139 



